Really enjoyable time at the Warwickshire Towns Network #placemaking conference in Warwick, with chance to be out & about in an attractive, largely #indie, heritage town centre.
An opportunity also to share #TheVacantShopsAcademy ‘audit, engage, encourage, promote’ approach to tackling #highstreet empty shops issues, and to hear the practical challenges councils, BIDs and businesses are facing on the ground in doing this.
Struck as ever by the frustrations they find in getting, especially long-time, empties back into use, and the difficulties they encounter tracing and engaging with some landlords. So maybe less surprising to hear the largely positive reaction in the room to the High Street Rental Auctions idea that’s promised as a future tool for local authorities to use against vacancy.
We know this is something many colleagues in the commercial #property sector have reservations about (to put it mildly…!) so interesting to see where the policy gets to…?
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Founder supplier of a monthly business page in The Oxfordshire Guardian newspaper.
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Commentator for The Herald series newspaper.