Author Archives: Iain Nicholson

Okay so it’s probably a bit technical, and maybe not gonna grab any morning headlines, but in the run up to release of the promised government High Streets Strategy… …I thought to revisit our tackling vacancy-focused ‘manifesto’: the policies and … Continue reading →

Really interesting updates this week if you’re following progress with the new High Streets Rental Auctions power. We’d said since the very early consultation conversations that it would be a valuable tool in the tackling vacancy toolkit but, importantly, as … Continue reading →

We know how positive an effect a new health services ‘community diagnostic centre’ (CDC), college or university campus and an arts & crafts makers collective store can have on town and city centres… …so how do we go about getting … Continue reading →

More than half of visibly vacant highstreet units have no agent involved in trying to get them back into use. It’s a stat that raises eyebrows every time we mention it and is one we table as a challenge for … Continue reading →

It’s a really good time if you’re a council or BID team to be putting maximum effort into helping get empty units back in use. We’re now at the half way point in the 2026 lettings season which will often … Continue reading →

How many of your town or city centres have empty units that have been like that for ten years or more…? Are you on the road to getting them used again…? I was lucky as part of a visit to … Continue reading →

One of the (many) joys of this job is getting to spend time with the really good people working hard and together to make their places the best they can be. And so to the city of Bath to spend … Continue reading →

Really enjoyable and heartening first visit to our latest tackling highstreet vacancy commission… Kirkcaldy is our 46th location for The Vacant Shops Academy and we’ve now made a start on the ‘audit, engage’ stage by mapping empty town centre units … Continue reading →

“You could aim to halve your headline highstreet vacancy rate in 18 months. Some places will go further, faster.” If you’re a council or BID team thinking to start the tackling vacancy journey or could use help on tricky challenges … Continue reading →