Author Archives: Iain Nicholson

“Our first time in Kirkcaldy yesterday and your mural was the first thing we saw as we drove in – it looked amazing!” I’m really looking forward to seeing this IRL on our next visit later this month, but it’s … Continue reading →

“It’s time to get that large vacant former retail brand or department store unit on your highstreet sorted.” Especially if you’ve more than one clustered together in part of your town or city centre. It’s a theme of more than … Continue reading →

20+ per cent of the units in your town or city centre are vacant.” What does that tell you…? Well obviously it says you have a significant empty units challenge, and if you’ve not already, you need get a positive, … Continue reading →

“You could walk from one end of the High Street to the other and find building after building with upper floors being little used or not at all.” “If you could get even a share of them back in play … Continue reading →

Good news. I’ve been asked to help with locations for the ‘improving high streets’ part of the Prime Minister’s summer tour. Actually, to be honest, I haven’t, but it’s been really interesting thinking about where I’d suggest and why. The … Continue reading →

– one with a landlord, the other an agent – but a huge amount learned about the town centre in focus… …but maybe more importantly, looking at the bigger national picture, another illustration of how having a working together, ‘place … Continue reading →

We’ve got to get past the idea that landlords of empty highstreet units are absentee or greedy or both… …at least we do if we’re going to make the rapid progress we can on reducing vacancy rates in our town … Continue reading →

Really interesting week setting out and talking through our tackling highstreet vacancy approach with two of the locations we’re supporting. Two very different places in varying locations with a different scale of headline vacancy rate challenge but still we’re confident … Continue reading →

This is why we’re trying to encourage every town or city centre with empty unit rates above the (too high anyway) national average, to get a tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ on the case. The biggest is that we know it … Continue reading →