I’m thinking on a train trip back to write a list of places that need, somehow, to get MORE units.
What…?
But we keep hearing about the highstreet struggling, reading the still-dominant ‘death of the…’ narrative and being told that nationally we’ve 40% more retail space than we need.
Thing is, to get to any of those you have to ignore totally the places that are getting short of units to meet demand…
…town and city centres that don’t have enough available units for retail or leisure brands who’d like to be there to move into. Imagine that. High profile brand X, who residents or existing businesses would love to have here, cannot find a unit. It’s happening, and we’re not talking isolated instances either.
Same is true for independents keen to expand or switch to a stronger spot in their town or city centre. Or for uses on our ‘alternative’ / additional list that runs from arts & crafts to health & wellbeing. Struggling to find somewhere to go.
It’s because, thanks to a combination of policy with unintended consequences and decisions being made as if ‘death of…’ was a thing, some places are all out of suitable empty and available units.
Some have been knocked down, others converted to resi or office or taken up by varying business types encouraged by the change in use class guidance, because at the time it was thought not to matter what units were let to: “it’s better than being empty”.
So now that list of places – and it’s not short – could do with finding some new units. Build them…? Reclaim them from uses that aren’t really adding to the mix…? Try to re-purpose un- and under-used upper floors…? None of that’s easy.
But we need find a way.
It’d be great to hear your thoughts…
