Will high street plan fit the Bill?

FEW things drag a town centre down like shops that have stood empty for years.

They make the place look scruffy, putting off shoppers and investors and hampering the efforts of traders who hang on in the face of competition from out-of-town retail parks.

Given that those one-stop destinations have been enabled by decades of government planning policies, cynics might have detected a hollow ring about this statement from Boris Johnson two months ago: “High streets up and down the country have long been blighted by derelict shopfronts, because they’ve been neglected, stripping opportunity from local areas. We are putting that right by placing power back in the hands of local leaders and the community so our towns can be rejuvenated, levelling up opportunity and restoring neighbourhood pride.”

Bojo might be on his way, but his successor is committed to a Bill that promises “rental auctions” where a town centre shop unit has been left empty for more than a year.

This would force landlords to accept a bid from a business or community group to take over the premises and could, it’s estimated, bring 58,000 empty shops back into use.

This should suit my home town of Ilkeston to a tee. It’s not particularly unusual, with a high street shop vacancy rate of 12 per cent. But, as a new report from Erewash Borough Council reveals, there are nine high street properties that have been empty for more than three years. One has been blighting the high street for 14 years, another for 19, and a third for an incredible 23.

I’m sure there are landlords in dire straits because of their failure to attract tenants, but many empty shops are owned by multi-million concerns with huge property portfolios that can afford to sit on vacant units until the market improves. One of those in Ilkeston, for instance, has risen in value by £140,000 while empty, according to an estate agent.

Erewash council is now taking action. It’s planning a bid for £20 million from the Government’s Levelling Up fund to regenerate Ilkeston town centre.

Ideas include new street furniture, more greenery and an animated screen overlooking the market place.

But much of the money would be spent on buying some of those empty properties and doing them up to attract new tenants.

A good idea on the face of it – but I hope someone at the town hall is asking serious questions about the wisdom of rewarding landlords with public money when it seems that a new law could bring about the desired result for free.