Category Archives: News Centre

What do your vacant #highstreet units look like on the inside, especially if they’re the long-time, tricky-to-let ones. Do you know…? Has your tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ been and taken a look. It’d be great to hear if you have … Continue reading →

For those of you used to seeing (or maybe even using) the words “greedy” or “absentee” every time you read “landlord”, conversations in recent weeks have suggested some alternatives. How about “struggling”, “anxious”, “at a loss”, “prepared to try things”…? … Continue reading →

A really intriguing part of our tackling #highstreet vacancy work of late has been conversations with local housing association colleagues, school, college, library / leisure services leaders and, next week, police officers about playing a part – even as far … Continue reading →

Promoting your existing town or city centre businesses and making sure you support them as best you can is a really important, but sometimes lost, part of a tackling #highstreet vacancy project. In our work with #TheVacantShopsAcademy we often find … Continue reading →

It’s interesting how often a single empty building or a small number of them feel like they hold the key to the future for a whole town or city centre, even when they’re only one or a few out of … Continue reading →

A nearby coastline could be a big asset for tackling #highstreet vacancy and improving the mix of uses in your town or city centre. But how…? It seems like connectivity, competition and confidence might be key to this. Does the … Continue reading →

Artists, crafters, creative and culture groups could for sure play a bigger part in our town and city centres. We know from our work with #TheVacantShopsAcademy that many would love to if we can overcome the barriers. So it’s exciting … Continue reading →

Where do we get the next generation of #highstreet shopkeepers from. The question was prompted by looking through the list of suggestions on our previous post which asked for “a list of new shops you’d love to see in our … Continue reading →

Let’s write a list of new shops we’d love to see in our town or city centres. Just one rule. It’s got to be something that you personally would make the journey in to use, and do so often enough … Continue reading →

Would anyone mind if I think optimistically of the prospects for the #highstreet in 2025. I know many of you will have – as I did – spent time over Christmas and New Year wading through the tide of gloomster … Continue reading →