The Vacant Shops Academy

I feel like I might have wandered into a caption competition here…

…but I wanted to share this, and ask with it, how can wall art and installations contribute to our tackling #highstreet vacancy work…?

I’m on record as saying how much I love to see #streetart in places I visit and in locations we’re working, and that’s partly just for enjoying it.

But I argue too that it helps, the history or heritage-reflecting kind I found on the same day as this on a visit to Ebbw Vale town centre or the rainbow, umbrella, butterfly, balloons one that’s brightening up a corner of Tredegar’s shopping centre.

At one end of the scale they can bring people into your town who might not have visited, especially if there’s a trail to follow. That has the added advantage of helping draw people from one to the next and around the town centre, maybe including parts they wouldn’t otherwise have found. They’re a talking point, and when they’re clever like this can encourage people and especially young people to be a part of the art, and hopefully then share on social media and so act as an ambassador in a way that might persuade others to visit too.

And that’s how it fits our tackling vacancy story. Bringing people in, tempting them to stay longer, helping make their visit memorable, encouraging them to spread the word. All things that are important to ‘promote’ – the fourth element of our approach that starts with ‘audit, engage, encourage.’

And if all that’s a bit in the weeds, you can of course just like seeing them…

There is a long list of reasons why a landlord might not be keen on letting an empty #highstreet unit.

I promised in comments when the previous post about the (high) percentage of visibly vacant units that have no agent involved in trying to get them back into use published on LinkedIn, to set out a list of potential factors.

Take a look. If nothing else it might help with perceptions. We often hear this debate start with statements like: “the landlord ought to…” or “surely it’s better if…”. But you’ll see that some on the list seem sensible from a financial, commercial perspective. It’s maybe the choice you’d make if you were the owner.

And that’s another reason we so strongly believe in the ‘place partnership’ approach to tackling vacancy, to help overcome these barriers.

So why might a letting not suit the landlord…?

• It may not work with their loans / leverage agreements.
• The current market rent may be below what was being paid by the previous tenant.
• The covenant of the would-be occupier may not be attractive.
• They may have other aspirations for the building e.g. It may be a long-term investment or development site.
• The cost to let (including making it fit to occupy, legal fees etc) may be prohibitive.
• Their income target may be being met by other e.g. upstairs tenants in the building.
• Upper floor tenants might object to certain ground floor uses.
• A deal here may negatively impact agreements with other tenants in the same town / city.
• The building is listed so (in most places) they pay no business rates when it’s empty thus reducing their incentive to let.
• They may have had bad experiences with tenants previously.
• They may have a tenant that’s left but is still paying rent on an unexpired lease.
  And so on…

Does anything you’ve read change your perception…?

It’d be great to hear from commercial #property agents and owners who would add to or adjust that list…

40% of visibly vacant #highstreet units have no agent involved in trying to get them let.

And that’s on average, some places have an even higher figure.

We’re really grateful to the team at national commercial #property agents GCW for reflecting this issue as part of an article in their latest newsletter.

It matters because with would-be occupiers either opting to walk-see town or city centres they’d like to open a #retail, #hospitality, services or other use type business in or searching online, it surely makes it harder for them if there are no lettings details to learn from, and discouraging if one or more units looks less than its best. If that’s the case then empty units becoming long-time vacant, with all the negatives that can have for neighbour businesses, residents and the place, looks more likely.

The data is drawn from a snap survey we did of the ‘audit, engage’ stages of our work with a number of #TheVacantShopsAcademy early locations and have kept up since. The average figure now is even higher.

We know from experience that there can be a range of reasons why landlords don’t have vacant units on the market. Having this GCW newsletter focus feels especially valuable because, as part of the tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ we encourage all locations to put in play, proactive agents seem best equipped to turn this round and work with owners to get empties marketed.

It’d be great to hear from commercial agents who are working to overcome these barriers where they are, and on what would help get that percentage figure down…

Heard a brilliant story this week…

…one that could be repeated in every town and city centre where tackling #highstreet vacancy is an issue.

Thing is. It was a story about a farm. 

So how – you may be asking – does that translate to a ‘high street’ setting…?

The story was shared by at an insightful Good 2 Great, Meeting of Minds event in Shropshire, and featured Fordhall Community Land Initiative:

“Registered as a charitable Community Benefit Society, the Fordhall Community Land Initiative Ltd. (FCLI) is run by over 8,000 non-profit making community shareholders. Put another way: 1 farmer, 8,000 landlords!”

…and that last bit is where I believe this plays to our tackling vacancy work because in every location we’re supporting with #TheVacantShopsAcademy there is at least one empty unit where, for whatever reason, the landlord isn’t on the same page as residents and existing businesses about the best way forward.

What works for the landlord commercially, financially, may not be what the place would choose, and the building stays empty, often for years.

So could community ownership be the solution…? Imagine that long-empty unit in your place, bought by local people, open and operating again for community benefit. For sure it’s challenging, but colleagues who know much more about this than me are doing a lot of work on the ‘how’.

It’d be great to get your thoughts…

+ With thanks to Shropshire Live for the image, coverage and positive headline…!

How is your town or city centre faring so far in the new #highstreet lettings season.

What #retail, #hospitality or services businesses or organisations have taken on empty units…

…and importantly are you driving it as a place, working together, or do you see tackling vacancy as just “an agent-landlord thing.”

It feels an important question. Not just so that you can start to see empty unit numbers reducing but because residents and existing businesses will be keen to see the mix of use types you have improving too.

It’s why we’re so keen to see every town or city centre that has vacancy as a challenge, set up a ‘place partnership’ with agents, landlords, businesses, community, cultural organisations, councils, chamber and BID where you have one working together on this…

…identifying what’s missing, what empty units you have, what’s stopping them letting and what they could be, a

then going out, together, to recruit what you need.

That way – as others have – you can aim to half your vacancy rate in 18 months. Some places will go further, faster.

So how is your place doing so far in 2025…? It’d be great to hear what’s new and in the pipeline…

“Go take a look inside those empty units in your town or city centre, and do it as a team.”

It’s something that’s part of our ‘next steps’ for every ‘place partnership’ we’re working with on tackling #highstreet vacancy.

Why…?

That way you get to see for yourselves why it’s empty, what the barriers are to getting it back in play, which of the traditional or maybe ‘alternative’ use types would work here, and really importantly, whether there’s a role for any of the partners in making that happen.

Seriously you can learn sooooo much more from being inside the unit than you might by looking from the outside or even checking lettings details, especially if you draw on perspective of all the place partners.

That might involve agent, landlord, existing businesses, community groups, cultural organisations as well as council colleagues (including planning, conservation, building control / standards, maybe housing), chamber or BID if you have one, plus others identified locally.

It emphasises a key message of our work down the years, that reducing the number of empty units and improving the mix of uses is not just ‘an agent-landlord thing’.

So do get those keys and go take a look. It’d be great to hear if it changes your perception.

We’d be equally keen to hear from #placemaking colleagues who’ve tried this approach already…

Who has new education uses taking up vacant space on your #highstreet…?

It’s on our list of ‘alternative’ or maybe better, ‘additional’ go-to uses, alongside #retail, #hospitality & services: arts & crafts, creative, culture, community, history & heritage, leisure, education, health and health & wellbeing, but we talk about it less, perhaps seeing the first and last of those as more promising, potentially easier to imagine how they might take on a town or city centre space.

But our sense is that education as a sector does have much more it could contribute to tackling vacancy…

Taking on empty units for extra classrooms or as a base for skills-based teaching and live briefs;

Siting a community hub or adult learning centre in a town or city centre where it’s more easily accessible because of the range of transport options already in place;

Do we have more scope to host nurseries or soft play, art classes and workshops;

Could empty units, un- and under-used upper floors or even existing businesses making use of down time host homework clubs, reading groups & more.

Those are just a few of the options. I’m sure #placemaking colleagues and those in the sector will be able to add others.

The question was sparked by seeing a chef academy and cookery school open up in a vacant unit in Poole town centre on a recent visit there.

It’d be great to hear your examples and suggestions…

It’s just lovely to sit and watch #streetart or art installations do their work for a town centre…!

Seeing people having their photo taken in front – often, hopefully, for onward use on their social media;

Hearing parents explain to accompanying children that it’s part of a trail they’ll go on and see the next of;

Clicking on a link or QR code to find out more of the story behind the art or the place itself.

It explains why making more of arts & crafts, creative, culture, community are always part of our ‘next steps’ for places we’re working with on tackling #highstreet vacancy…

…because they can attract in new or different audiences, extend dwell time and encourage visitors to parts of the town or city centre they might otherwise not get to.

And of course, in a cheeringly increasing number of cases, directly help to reduce the number of empties too by taking on a unit themselves, maybe popup to start with, going on to longer term.

The images examples are all from an enjoyable and insightful visit to Poole town centre, to catch up on the tackling vacancy and wider #placemaking work they’re doing.

As ever it’d be great to hear how these kinds of projects and initiatives are making a difference in your place…

Is your place keeping across the target new shop or venue location requirements posted here by agents and brand property directors…?

It’s a really important part of the role of a tackling #highstreet vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’, and I’d say agent colleagues will tell you it makes a difference to them to hear quickly from a local team in one of the locations, especially if they share with it a set of details for ‘empty and available’ units that fit the bill.

That’s partly because it’s typically a competitive business. The lists usually feature more places than they’ll actually end up with a new opening, so there’s a sense of “first come, first…”.

Rarely if ever a week goes by without at least one requirements post appearing with a description of ideal location and unit types and size, and most of them list town and city centres they’d like to be in too.

We share these lists with local teams in places #TheVacantShopsAcademy is working and encourage them to be in touch.

The fact that there are so many out there is one of the (many) causes we have for optimism that the long-stuck national vacancy rate can be brought down.

Another is that more places are adopting our ‘audit, engage, encourage, promote’ approach which we know can reduce empty unit numbers and improve the mix of use types. That’s because town and city centres using it have halved their vacancy rates in 18 months, some of them further and faster, and others are on that journey now.

If your place has a mid / high teens or over 20% vacancy rate or your residents and existing businesses are keen on a particular use type or brand to fill empty units, do connect with agents and property directors on here and you’ll see…