Author Archives: Iain Nicholson

“I love mushroom omelette. 🍄‍🟫 Oh look, someone’s given us mushrooms in the King’s Speech. 🥚 But wait… no eggs or milk…? Guess we’ll just have to manage with fried mushrooms then. ☹️ I like that too but… Pity.” 👨‍🍳 … Continue reading →

Are you involved as a whole place in getting large former department stores back into use…? ⏳ How many of your town and city centres still have them vacant after 2, 3 or more years…? Asking as it’s at the … Continue reading →

Nationally the headline ‘empty shops’ vacancy rate is around 14%. 📉 Could the new Levelling Up team set as a target to drop that into single figures…? I believe so. We know how to do this. 🗝️ A starting point … Continue reading →

Awesome week out & about #highstreet #placemaking. 💡 Four very different places so intriguing to see the common ground and how much the local teams could share. Our #TheVacantShopsAcademy focus on reducing empty shops numbers is one of those – … Continue reading →

Do love to see a ‘Play Me’ piano when we’re out & about #highstreet #placemaking. 🚆 As we’re committed at #TheVacantShopsAcademy to travel by train wherever we can, it’s especially great to see them at rail stations. This one is … Continue reading →

Excited to be heading out this week to visit the first of 8 new locations we’ll be delivering #TheVacantShopsAcademy tackling #highstreet vacancy approach. 8️⃣ They’re a mix of town centres with headline empty shops rates in the mid-teens and those … Continue reading →

Two years on. Picking up a journeys thread from our good #highstreet #placemaking friend Chris Wade FIPM at People, Places & Parking Process on the theme of sustainable travel. Having committed to travelling by train to #TheVacantShopsAcademy locations wherever possible, … Continue reading →

Learned a huge amount from an enjoyable and insightful #placemaking out & about in Gloucester. A city with sooooo much happening in its different segments. Among them: The pioneering University of Gloucestershire repurposing of the sizeable former Debenhams store, being … Continue reading →

So it’s looking like the new powers to allow local authorities to ‘force’ an auction to rent long-time empty #highstreet units won’t be available ‘this summer’ as planned. Was your place hoping to make use of High Street Rental Auctions…? … Continue reading →

We often talk in #TheVacantShopsAcademy ‘next steps’ narrative for the places we’re commissioned, and on here, about splitting vacant units as a route to getting them re-occupied. 🪜That can be dividing large ground floor, often ex-department store, units into smaller … Continue reading →