The Vacant Shops Academy

Morale and confidence and positivity are vitally important for the #highstreet.

They impact resident enthusiasm for going into their town or city centres, decisions by existing businesses when their lease renewal comes up and of would-be new occupiers and their #property agents, plus the crucial choices made by potential inward-investor landlords and owners.

But we have (still) a dominant national media narrative promoting that ‘death of the…’ perspective. It’s damaging and now I think we can confidently say, misleading.

To be clear, it’s challenging still and we’ve loads to do yet, but there’s so much good stuff happening too, and I think you can start to make the case that places with a high vacancy rate are those that are yet to set up a ‘place partnership’ to lead on tackling it.

All of this explains why I’m a huge fan and supporter of the brilliant work being done by Laura Harris at LH Analytics Ltd with her #HighStreetPositives initiative. 

The latest newsletter update is due out this week – full of news on lettings, openings, and positive projects – so do please connect, follow the page on here, subscribe and share your own local projects to the ever-increasing #placemaking community which sees this as a force for good in turning that narrative to the benefit of all our places.

Thank you…!

I may have said before how much I love to see #streetart when out and about on tackling #highstreet vacancy commissions with #TheVacantShopsAcademy.

It’s especially the case when you happen across one unexpectedly and it’s sooooo vibrant.

This we found looking right before crossing a road in the attractive market town that is Rugby in Warwickshire.

Lots to like here. An interesting mix of buildings, a strong group of independents, a variety of incoming businesses with others in the pipeline…

…and a range of ways to reflect its history and heritage.

Sculpture, pavement installations, wall art, banners and more.

It prompted me to ask #placemaking colleagues: “what’s your favourite example of highlighting the special features of your town or city centre’s past, its stories and characters etc…?”

Do please share…

Image: The Squirrel – Rugby, by Michael Batchelor.

How many of the visibly empty units in your town or city centre actually have a tenant still paying the rent…?

It’s something we come across a lot on #TheVacantShopsAcademy tackling #highstreet vacancy commissions, and it’s typically one of the trickier issues to overcome.

To explain.

It means the tenant business or organisation left while they still had time on their lease agreement with the landlord. So they’re still paying rent, and sometimes are due to for many years.

With rents often now lower than they were when the agreement was signed the landlord has little incentive to progress things so the unit stays empty.

In some cases we see an agent’s board on the property but it’s typically on behalf of the tenant trying to, what’s called, “assign” the remainder of the lease.

I’ve never counted how many like this we’ve seen but it’s not rare and that assignment is really awkward to achieve.

So as a tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ you’ve a sometimes prominent, often deteriorating unit that may stay that way for ages.

It’d be interesting to hear from #property colleagues who have seen cases of this solved, as it can be.

🥊 Neighbouring towns. What are they…? Rivals…? Competing for customers…?

Or. Could they work together…?

🤝 Highlight each other’s strengths where they’re different. Promote each other, campaign together and encourage their businesses and town centre organisations to do the same.

It might be one has #history and #heritage buildings, a brilliant line up of #indie businesses. The other could be a service centre. It has the banks, or brands or a choice of pharmacists, opticians, phone companies. Whatever.

🪜 It might, as an example, mean the town which is dominated by indies could split its brand-sized vacant units rather than try recruit those itself in the old clone-town mode. Specialise.

We first explored this idea on a #TheVacantShopsAcademy commission with two pairs of locations in South Gloucestershire, and had a reminder in Essex where a single BID covers three locations: Brentwood, Ingatestone and Shenfield.

This week a quick visit to meet #highstreet #property colleagues in Nantwich set me wondering if there’s a potential ‘places partnership’ with Crewe.

🚈 They’re just eight minutes apart by train so close enough to consider.

🤳🏽 I’d be really interested to hear from places where you’re promoting jointly with neighbours, or think that maybe you could…

I’m going to add #history and #heritage to the list…

…the one that goes: arts & crafts, creative, culture, community, leisure, education, health and health & wellbeing.

🎬 It’s the list of business and organisation use types that we suggest #TheVacantShopsAcademy tackling #highstreet vacancy locations explore as potential options to take on empty units, as an addition to #retail, #hospitality and services.

Why…?

🏭 Well we’re used to seeing the past of our places reflected in events, through #streetart & sculptures, on blue plaques, interpretation boards and the like.

But could they go an extra step, and take on a vacant unit…? Maybe as a mini-museum if the current one has more to display than it has space for or it’s away from the town centre. Perhaps the unit could host exhibitions of artefacts or displays of images – collections of shops how they used to look are certain to be popular. Or other examples I’ve yet to see but #placemaking colleagues are working on.

I was reminded of the thought during an inspirational visit to The Crewe Heritage Centre – which is itself a short walk from the town centre, so emphasising the idea that a connected presence there would benefit both…

…and on a prior train trip to the attractive neighbour town of Nantwich (of which more in an upcoming post).

🤳🏽 It’d be great to hear your examples of history and heritage playing a proactive part in town and city centres #Evolving…

For reasons I cannot really understand I always like to see a clock when out & about with #TheVacantShopsAcademy on a tackling #highstreet vacancy commission or just visiting.

Would be interested to hear if you have one or more on a commercial building in your town or city centre.

🔧 Do they work…?

Are they looking the best they can be…?

📖 Is there some sort of accompanying information board to explain their who and why…?

Do you make a #placemaking feature of them…?

And I’m especially keen to know if anyone has a recent, modern one or are they all a thing of the past.

🤳🏽 Would love to see some examples and hear their stories…

Do love to see #streetart, wall art, sculptures, shutter art and – what do we call this new format – utility box art…? on out & about trips to town and city centres.

🛍️ A memorable part of an insightful visit to High Wycombe just to see what’s changed there with incoming #retail and #hospitality businesses since last time, and catch up with friends.

And here’s more on the artist for the post image: http://www.shaunaanseo.com

🎭 It’s also an interesting conversation across #TheVacantShopsAcademy locations we’re working around how much difference these #placemaking touches – along with flowers, music, performance and the like – can have on your work to reduce the number of empty units and improve the mix of uses.

Lots I’d say.

🤔 What do you think…?

Good for positive impressions created, the boost it can give you on social media, involvement of #community in making these things happen and keeping them looking good, a reflection of your history or heritage maybe, and if you’ve plenty, the chance to go for some kind of trail to draw people around the place.

🤳🏽 Feel free to share your favourite examples…!

Just couldn’t resist this.

🗞️ It may be a one off, or there’ll be a delay before others follow. Or it’s the start of something.

What is…?

🛍️ A national newspaper story with a headline which includes the words: “high street revival”, has a sub header: “Retailers are putting their faith in bricks & mortar as it becomes clear customers want in-store shopping” and, most telling of all, follows with the phrase:

“…the death of the high street may have been greatly exaggerated.”

🗝️ The article in The Times goes on to list #retail “chains in expansion mode” and “moving into larger units”.

The piece may of course be the one swallow that ain’t making a summer. But if it’s more than that, it’s crucial.

📈 As we’ve been saying for many years, and as the brilliant Laura Harris #HighStreetPositives series on here is demonstrating, upbeat sentiment makes a difference to investment decisions, to business owners opting to take on new units, to more customers choosing the #highstreet over alternatives. And the momentum builds.

From our perspective at #TheVacantShopsAcademy none of this is a surprise. We’re lucky enough to be working with 30+ places and have seen for some time increasing interest, longer #property requirements lists, more new lettings.

⚖️ It’s challenging still. We continue to have a range of #placemaking policy and regulation things that could be reviewed and adjusted which are holding us back, and most of all there are towns and cities without the tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ that’s needed to work together on reducing their vacancy rate and improving the mix of uses.

💡We’re trying to encourage and inspire more places to take this on.

And if the national media narrative is (finally) shifting that’s 💯 going to help…!