What would you put in that vacant unit…?

What type of businesses would you most like to see take on vacant units in your town centre…?

🤔 It’s a question we ask a lot on #TheVacantShopsAcademy commissions because it’s important.

What would your residents ask for and support. What might existing businesses value most as neighbours.

🛍️ Answers we’ve had of late include: “a comic shop”, “somewhere to buy clothes”, “a replacement butcher”, “a baker and another bookstore.”

It’s important because it emphasises a key point of our ‘audit, engage, encourage, promote’ approach. The idea is first that the place chooses what would add to the mix, but also goes out and tries to recruit those businesses or organisations (because your ideal might not be #retail or #hospitality, it could be arts & crafts, creative, culture, community, leisure, education, health & wellbeing).

🧶 It means seeing if a #market stall holder wants a shop unit of their own, or there’s an online-only trader ready for the #highstreet or a business in a neighbouring town looking to expand, or you feature on a national brand’s #property requirement list.

🤳🏽 So, think about the vacant units in your town centre. What would you most like to see fill them….? What would be a fit for the space and your place. It’d be great to hear…!