Government hopes to tackle the high street’s “scourge of vacant shops” with its rental scheme. Eight councils have signed up to the High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) powers scheme, which gives local councils the power to auction off leases for commercial properties that have been empty for more than 365 days in a 24-month period.
Councils of Barnsley, Broxtowe, Camden London, Hillingdon London, Lichfield, North Northamptonshire, North Somerset and Westminster will join the scheme. This brings the total number of councils trialling it to 11, joining Bassetlaw, Darlington and Mansfield who began in November. The early adopters of the “game changing” scheme will influence other authorities to get on board, according to the Minister of State for Local Growth and Building Safety, Alex Norris.
He added: “We’re bringing shops and shoppers back to the high street, boosting trade, creating jobs, supporting our communities and driving local growth through our game changing High Street Rental Auction rollout.
“We are committed to growing the economy and improving opportunities for people across the country through our Plan for Change, and thriving high streets have a key role to play.”
Over £1 million of funding has been provided to support the rollout of HSRAs, and Gareth Thomas, Small Business Minister, said the scheme will “lift the shutters” on the high street.
He added: “We know that small businesses are the drivers of our economy, which is why we’re working hard to boost exports and tackle late payments, and HRSAs are another crucial tool to support SMEs, increase jobs and go for growth.”
Labour MP for Kettering, Rosie Wrighting, posted on social media about the “great news”: “I am delighted to see this action to tackle shop vacancies and bring businesses back to the High Street.
“My first job was on a shop floor in Kettering town centre and seeing how much local High Streets have been neglected is heartbreaking.”
However, Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich Connor Naismith said: “High Street Rental Auctions will not succeed in taking back our high streets unless we also tackle the scandalous practices of some landlords to escape the remit of these powers, rob the public purse of business rates and my constituents of town centres they can be proud of.”
Last year, figures revealed 13,479 shops closed on the UK high street, which was up 28.4 percent on the 10,494 shops that closed in the previous year. Small businesses with between one and five stores accounted for 84.1 percent of all store closures.