Author Archives: Iain Nicholson

But I think I’m okay to go walk-see Banbury town centre. It’s a place that I’ve always thought has a huge amount going for it: heritage buildings, a sizeable independents group, lots of pedestrianised space, proactive shopping centre team, the … Continue reading →

What would you change…? With the government promising to publish a ‘High Streets Strategy’ later this year, I thought to share again the tackling #highstreet vacancy-focused ‘manifesto’ I drew up in May ‘24 in the run up to that year’s … Continue reading →

Let’s get places to try halve their headline vacancy rate and drop the long-stuck national empties percentage into single figures. Reading that the government is planning to publish a ‘High Streets Strategy’ later this year, I thought to table again … Continue reading →

I’ve started wondering if we should maybe switch how we think about it…? To explain first, it’s a phrase being used to describe people answering #highstreet surveys, commenting in the press and posting on social media about how their town … Continue reading →

…or why it’s so valuable for places working on tackling #highstreet vacancy to take a team inside empty units to work out how to get them back in use. That’ll be the focus of the next in our series of … Continue reading →

Your town or city centre’s headline vacancy rate is almost exactly the national average – that’s quoted as 13.5%. So what could you realistically set as a target looking ahead…? It’s a very practical question I’ve been asked this week … Continue reading →

It’s a large, prominent but now long-empty unit in your town centre, and it’s starting show the signs of that too. Paint peeling, partly boarded up, greenery sprouting around the windows. Got one like that or more…? So what are … Continue reading →

“Across the country, 13.5% of shops stand empty, the lowest vacancy rate since 2020, with a further drop expected next year.” That’s a line from one press story this week. Now I get that a single positive national media article … Continue reading →

Four years ago this week since I closed the laptop on my time as Oxford City Centre Manager (on Christmas Eve to make it tidy and easy for even me to remember)… …and launched The Vacant Shops Academy. Feel privileged … Continue reading →

This is what happens if you put 100-plus ‘Positives’ in a room for two and a half hours… …even if it’s a virtual one. And so my reflections on an inspiring, insightful first HighStreetPositives summit, albeit a little later than … Continue reading →