Tackling #highstreet vacancy. It’s not just about the numbers.
Several of our recent #TheVacantShopsAcademy commissions are in places that have – by comparison – relatively small empty unit counts.
But they do warrant the tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ approach as much as those town or city centres where the headline rate is in the mid / high teens or over 20%.
Why…?
The challenge those places are reporting are twofold:
They have some, often large and prominent, sometimes long-empty and deteriorating units that are proving tricky to get back into use, maybe ones that had been department stores, large brands or banks;
+ Residents and existing businesses are getting concerned about the mix of uses the centre has – too much of the same thing, not enough “actual shops”, new lettings that don’t really add to its attractiveness as a reason to visit. This is an issue our #placemaking friend Chris Wade FIPM at The People & Places Partnership Ltd. keeps highlighting in his insightful studies of local perceptions.
If this is your town or city centre it’s just as important that the place works alongside agents and landlords to try ensure those few remaining units go to uses that help. That’s about being proactive, consulting on what residents and businesses would value, and working to recruit those that add rather than be passive, wait to see what emerges and grumble about the result.
Similarly with the large units. Eventually something will likely happen, but will it be the outcome the place would choose…? Better – tho not always easy – to try impact those decisions.
We’re very happy to talk with places that have either or both challenges about your options, and share how town and city centres that take on this approach are doing it…
