The Vacant Shops Academy

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 those of many attendees.

Co-hosting duties mean focusing on introducing speakers and panellists, asking questions, keeping tabs on the chat and Q&A and checking we’re running to time, so I’ve taken an extra day or two to run through again what we heard…

• a long and lengthening list of national and international #retail and #hospitality brands opening new stores and venues;
• different models of short term, meanwhile or popup shop uses and how they work for both occupiers and landlord;
• the crucial importance of partnership working;
• five fascinating town and city centre regeneration models followed by intriguing case studies from two places putting very different approaches at the heart of their efforts;
• a global perspective drilled down to explore the varying opportunities we have to take on space alongside retail;
• an update on the national government policy agenda and key current initiatives;
• a look at two locally-led projects with community at their heart, wrapped up with a lovely live reading of a powerful parable for positivity;
• and to close, a very practical conversation on ways we can all help make inroads into the dominance of that negative media around the highstreet.

So thanks to all the presenters and panellists, to Laura Harris for putting together such a brilliant programme, to Emma Whiteacre for great work behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly, and to all our attendees who played a huge part in creating lively chat and Q&A channels.

The plan is for more like it in ‘26 as well as taking our ‘launch’ event to new locations. Cannot wait…!

If you’ve #HighStreetPositives topic ideas that are making a difference to your place we’d love to hear them too…

Shops moving from one to another building in your town or city centre is always an interesting and important part of the story.

It can be for a range of reasons and I would love to hear examples from #property and #placemaking colleagues…

• Looking for a bigger space either to expand the existing offer or to add something extra or different;
• For a more central location, often having started somewhere with lower costs to test things out;
• They find a better deal on costs than in their existing unit.

We’ve also seen a range of moves where maybe there’s less of a drive from the owner…

• Where the landlord decides against extending a lease, maybe because they see another option (more rent, stronger covenant, use type / offer that better fits their plans going forward);
• If the building has issues…
• …or something changes about the street it’s on that impacts footfall / dwell-time and with that, viability;
• It’s the moment from the business perspective to downsize to a smaller unit.

Whatever the reasons, while they’re concentrating on recruiting new #highstreet occupiers from online or outside the town or city to take on empty units, your tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ can also benefit by keeping in close touch with existing businesses about their performance, plans and prospects.

Sometimes facilitating a move can save you losing a business altogether or from a positive perspective, put one of your rising stars on the road to greater success.

I’d be really interested to hear how you’ve influenced this kind of switch and it’s been a plus for your place…

This is why I’m so optimistic about the future for our town and city centres.

The new openings in our image set, different types in varying towns, but sharing a story of investment, hard work and imagination to get the unit ready, collaboration with and support from local tradesfolk and neighbour businesses, and excitement about welcoming customers and being part of their #highstreet community.

For all of the gazillion words written about the budget, the policies and projections, it’s these stories that fire the belief I have in our places and the people that make them.

And these are just 4 examples from one week in places that we’re supporting on tackling vacancy. Three of them are in units that were empty when we did our first ‘audit’ there, one of them had been like that for a very long time.

There are others you’ll know of from your town and city centres. Nationally the new openings roll seems busier than ever, and requirements lists from agents and property directors for brands looking to increase store or venue numbers keep on coming (we’re regularly sharing those with local tackling vacancy teams and with Laura Harris for HighStreetPositives).

I get that it’s challenging still, that there’s a huge amount to do and that policy and regulation changes would help.

But there are positives. Lots of them.

It’d be great to hear examples from your #property portfolio and places…

A very welcome new shop, a popular eatery, maybe something creative or community…

What’s making the news on your town or city centre social media channels…?

It could be a #retail or #hospitality business opening, brand or indie – and it’d be great to hear examples from your place…

For many a #highstreet those two use types may be enough together with services to take up a good number of the empty units you’re working on as a tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’.

Where it’s not, we encourage the local teams we’re working alongside to explore other ‘alternative’ or additional options: arts & crafts, creative, culture, community, history & heritage, leisure, education, health, health & wellbeing, and we’re seeing an encouraging number of those opening and in the pipeline too.

Which explains the other feature of those ‘promote’ channels right now, if my timelines are anything to go by. Among those I’ve seen this week…

• a dementia community group – CreweCreates
• a toolkit for creating play spaces – Play:Disrupt
• a family-friendly panto in a stories pop up shop – Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books

As Laura Harris always emphasises in her brilliant HighStreetPositives campaign posts, our town and city centres are (and in reality long have been) about much more than shopping. It’s important still but in 2025 and going forward we’re asking for more and many of our places are starting to deliver.

So what kinds of positives are making the news where you are…? Do please share.

Time to unveil our emerging set of guides and briefing notes on and around the challenge of tackling vacancy…

They draw on projects and initiatives we’ve been involved with or seen, and our work with place leaders and managers in the 43 locations we’ve taken #TheVacantShopsAcademy so far.

The rationale for writing and sharing them is two fold: firstly, we’re trying to shift the thinking about #highstreet vacancy from being an issue caused by factors outside our control that we’re stuck with, to one that we know how to tackle (as a variety of places are doing, successfully).

It’s also about inspiring those who think getting empty units let again is “just an agent-landlord thing” to understand that the whole place – agents, landlords yes, but businesses, community, cultural organisations, councils, chambers, BID where there is one, too – working together, gets this done quicker and more sustainably.

So. If you are a local council or BID leader who’s planning to:

• start work on tackling vacancy and improving the mix of uses types in your town or city centre;

be one of the places that’s really benefitted from having health & wellbeing services on the highstreet;

• make more of a chance to encourage arts & crafts, creative, culture or community businesses, groups and organisations to take on vacant units;

ensure that empty properties look the best they can while work continues to get them let;

• improve the ‘look’ of your location as a whole because of all that can do to help attract residents, visitors, new occupiers and investors and extend dwell time…

We’ve a guide or briefing note for each of these, so please ask for a copy of whichever fits your priorities…