The Vacant Shops Academy

Are you putting vinyls on empty units in your town or city centre.

It’d be great to hear experiences, positive or challenging.

We were asked by one of the locations we’re supporting on tackling #highstreet vacancy about the approach to some of their long-time empties.

So we’ve drafted a briefing based on projects we’ve seen or been involved with in case that’s helpful.

First thing we emphasised is that we see ‘vinyling’ as an option but one that’s down a priority list. Where possible we’d encourage the place to be looking to support agents and landlords to get a unit let, either long-term or initially on a short term, pop-up, ‘meanwhile… use’ basis.

‘Vinyling’ comes next i.e. where getting the unit back in play isn’t going to be possible for some time either because:

• there are development or refurbishment plans for it;
• there is a former tenant that left with term still in their lease and is still paying rent so that, though visibly vacant, the unit is technically occupied;
• it cannot be let for a time because the previous occupier went into administration and that process is still working through;
• the unit is in a poor way inside and significant works are required before it can be used again.

That then takes you to permissions, practicalities and potential conversations about planning, listed building status, advertising consent and business rates.

So it can be complex getting to a solution but waaaaay better for the place and neighbour businesses than leaving a unit looking less than its best, no…?

Hands up who has a unit or even a whole building in their town or city centre that’s been empty for five years.

Any for 10 years…? What about 20…?

It’s a question I asked attendees at an interactive workshop I was kindly invited to chair for Association of Town & City Management and their Summer School #SS25Bradford.

The focus was on the inspirational story of the city’s Bradford Live venue. Do look it up if it’s one you’ve not heard.

It’s a building that – through a number of entertainment uses down the years – holds a place in the hearts and memories of generations but had found itself shut, near derelict and for those looking on, dispiriting.

Now just opening up again, it’s ready to create new memories…

…and from a starting point of three friends going to look it over, through council involvement and investment, a stunning but careful makeover, overcoming a number of setbacks, to today with a specialist operator getting it set to go, it’s a quite a journey.

Importantly for our work with local teams on tackling #highstreet vacancy, it’s a case study of how crucial the ‘place partnership’ approach can be to bringing these empty units and buildings back into play…

…and hopefully it will encourage you to don a hard hat, get the keys, maybe a torch, and take a local team inside your long-time empty units, work out the use options, the barriers and how they can be overcome, and which of the partners needs step up to make that happen.

It’s a brilliant city centre…

…so enjoyed our time in Bradford for the Association of Town & City Management’s sunny Summer School #SS25Bradford, with place leaders and managers from around the country.

A huge amount happening, more in the pipeline. Awesome heritage buildings, transformative public realm projects delivering an extended pedestrianised area, fountain-filled Mirror Pool, city park, imaginative landscaping and striking #streetart, a new market imminent, empty units re-purposing, office space additions and the inspirational Bradford Live story (which we’ll return to in a future post) and more besides.

What did I forget…?

It’s so valuable at these #placemaking events to have time allocated to walk-see and hear something of the back story from those involved.

I feel like we were lucky to be there at this snapshot in time but also am really keen to stop by again sometime to see how the almost ready to go initiatives progress and how city centre living, upper floors focus, adjusts to the #retail and #hospitality mix, maybe including ‘additional’ uses on our list that runs from arts & crafts, creative and culture to health & wellbeing, become a bigger part of that story.

Thank you Bradford…!

Looking ahead to an exciting week in the conversation about how much of a role arts & crafts, creative, culture can play in our town and city centres…

…in lots of ways, but in particular for our focus on tackling #highstreet vacancy.

A big part of that is the Association of Town & City Management Summer School themed around ‘How to Maximise Our Cultural and Community Assets’, featuring a range of presentations on the contribution to our places of art, music, storytelling and more. Among the sessions, one I’m very much looking forward to chairing called ‘Bradford Live: Bringing a Long Lost Cultural Asset Back to Life.’

I’ve also just written an introduction for another project we’re hoping to be involved in which maybe sums up how important I see this theme being in #placemaking…

“That arts & crafts, creative, culture and community uses can play a bigger part in our town and city centres is something I think has been a strong element of our tackling vacancy work in towns and city centres since we started to do this 12 year ago.

“We now have a range of examples – some we’ve been involved with, others we’ve seen – which I think can help encourage more individuals and organisations to consider setting up something in their local area, and also inspire more places to make supporting such ventures part of their work on this issue.”

Would love to hear your arts & crafts, creative, culture impact case studies…!

What happens when a national brand targets your town or city centre for a new store or venue.

Working on tackling #highstreet vacancy, as we are now with 36 different locations, we’ve many agent connections and so regularly see and send on requirement lists, which set out the places they’d like to open in.

Typically those lists have more names than they’ll eventually expand into, which makes it competitive. Agency colleagues will correct me if I’m wrong but I’ve always said to local tackling vacancy teams that if they respond with a list of units that fit the bill plus agent or landlord details it can help their cause.

So what’s the current response if your town or city centre is on a list…?

• the ‘place partnership’ gets in touch, maybe with a council or BID team member taking the lead;
• a local agent or a national that has units in your place picks up the task;
• Nothing.

It’s another of the many reasons we believe so strongly in our ‘place partnership’ approach. It means, working together, the local team knows its empty units and has all the necessary details to share, but more than that it’s also done some work on what the town or city centre has already, what’s missing, what comparable places have and the kinds of #retail, #hospitality or other use types residents and existing businesses would welcome. In other words you know what to go for and whether you have empty units that match.

So if you’re not across the requirements process, it’s a really useful tip to take up.

Do let us know if you’re on the case…

What would you do with these 4 empty units…

…well maybe not this exact set as they’re images from a recent town centre walk-see, and there maybe things happening behind the scenes with them.

But it’s a conversation we’re having with local teams in #highstreet locations we are working about large, prominent, often multi-floor, sometimes heritage, empty buildings in their town or city centre.

First step is ‘engage’ with agents and landlords as tho visibly vacant they may have a new occupier in play or on the way (under offer).

It’s possible they’re technically let to a previous occupier who left with term in the lease and is therefore still paying rent, possibly for some time yet.

But if they are empty and available, we’d be suggesting the ‘place partnership’ – which brings together agents, landlords, businesses, community, cultural organisations, council(s), chamber, BID if they have one and others identified locally – gets the keys and takes a look inside.

That way you’ll get a sense of occupier options, barriers to let and how they can be overcome and, importantly, which of the partners needs step up to try help make that happen.

If you don’t take this approach you may find units like these stay empty because the commercial #property market gets stuck and cannot, without the wider ‘place’ involvement, move them forward.

So back to your town or city centre. Are you getting inside those large, long-time empties…?

Do let us know.

Should we pause the knocking down thing in town and city centres…?

Just to allow a moment to review, take a tackling #highstreet vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ team inside the empty units, explore the barriers and options to occupy and, importantly, see whether together we can find a way to get them back into use…?

I get that in some cases the buildings are in too poor a way, cannot (at least cost effectively) be repurposed to current standards or are best replaced by a larger more impactful development.

But I think there’s concern that in some cases the driver isn’t that. It’s the (mistaken I’d say) belief in ‘death of…’ and the too-carelessly bandied about ‘over supply of shops’ mantra, the (supposedly) unrelenting rise of online and out-of-town shopping and the demise of well-known #retail brands.

Crucially tho, it’s also missing something: the huge potential for arts & crafts, creative, cultural, community, history & heritage, leisure, education, health and health & wellbeing uses to take on empty spaces. We’ve more and more examples like this we can share.

And that’s not just meanwhile… or for rates mitigation. These uses can stay, long term, make a contribution to the finances of a building and be positive for the place on variety, sustainability and resilience.

If we carry on as we are, is there a danger that some places will take out too much stock, bypass these opportunities and worse, leave themselves with too few units, so ending up with rising rents that drive out long-established businesses you value as part of the mix.

So if your place is planning town or city centre demolitions, are you still confident that it’s right for 2025 and the years ahead, not based on how things have gone in the last five…?

One of the reasons I’m so optimistic about the future of our town and city centres is the people…

…council colleagues, BID teams, #property agents, landlords, businesses, community leaders, cultural organisation members, shopping centre asset managers and more, working hard amongst often complex, sometimes competing challenges to make their places the best they can be.

Their expertise, creativity, determination and resilience is why I’m confident in suggesting to those taking up our tackling #highstreet vacancy approach that they can set as an objective halving the number of empty units in 18 months, even if they’re starting with a rate in the mid / high teens or over 20 per cent.

If that’s your place and you’d like to join our Academy Network and make a start on reducing those numbers and improving the mix of uses you have, getting a positive, proactive, ‘place partnership’ in play is a crucial first step.

We’d be really happy to talk you through it…

The image set is from our most recent out & about, an enjoyable, insightful stop off in Bolton town centre, much of it focusing on its historic ‘Market Place’ and how the asset, management and lettings teams there are innovating beyond the typical, traditional so it evolves with the times. It’s a real interesting and encouraging story…