The Empty Shops Thread - your area?

Barnetbear

Because I was thinking of buying a shop, I've been taking an interest.

I am taken aback by how many empty shops there are on not just secondary but some of the primary parades on my routes around Essex.

What is it like in your area?

With shop vacancy rates like this and if occupancy rates continue to fall as seems to be the case (I stress seems, I have not got facts & figures, only a perception) it looks like things ain't too good.

paulwf

On face value round my way occupancy rates for the town centre are high. If you look at the big picture it is a much more complicated situation though...and I got this from wading through a council report trying to predict the number of shops required in 25 years time.

What happened 12 years ago is that a new shopping centre opened in the centre of town and apparently town centre occupancy rates now and then are the same. However all the big names in town moved to the shopping centre and all the stores in secondary locations moved to the vacant primaries, not really creating many new big players in town.

Because the secondary locations emptied those areas have gone downhill and the cheap rents have led to businesses in outlying locations fill them. Why be in a suburb when you can be close to the town centre for similar money? The suburbs near town have now been completely decimated and some are being converted en masse into flats as they will never be used for retail again.

It's all a big game of musical chairs and a high occupancy rate doesn't tell the full story of secondary and suburban retail areas going downhill and being abandoned.

Pennywise

We've lots of empty shops around us, but there's been empty shops for a decade or more, so don't think it's any worse this year than last year or the year before.

Top locations never stay empty long - i.e. popular shopping arcades, high profile corners etc on major roads. The poor areas have entire rows of empty shops - it was at least a decade since they were prosperous - a new shopping centre and a couple of superstores ruined entire streets.

There's definately been a shift from one area to another - simply displacement rather than increasing/reducing amount of occupied retail space.

If I wanted a decent shop today, I'd have a hard job finding something - just like 5 years ago. If I want something cheap and cheerful and don't mind being mugged or burned down, then I've plenty of choice!!

serious_saver

We had some very busy shopping streets in Cardiff but they built (unneccessarily) a huge extension to the indoor shopping centre. When they couldn't fill it they started offering free rent for a couple of years and the surrounding streets emptied. Everything seems to be under one slightly depressing roof and even then most of those shops haven't been filled.

Slinky

My local village high street has about 25 shops. We had Wine Rack close down a while ago, this has been bought out recently by another drinks retailer but the shop is yet to open up. Had a gift shop open about 18 months ago, now having a closing down sale. Mind you I thought it would last no more than 6 months.... Other than that we've nothing empty. We have 2 charity shops which have been there for years.

My local big shopping centre is Milton Keynes. There were a lot of empty units in there earlier this year, more than I'd ever seen before, but they seem to have filled a number of them. I'm guessing they must have dropped the rents a lot as they were known to be high, and one of the new retailers in there is Poundland - can't say I would ever have thought we'd see them in the shopping centre.

Barnetbear

Poundland seem to be expanding, no surprises there in the current climate.

However, if there's more inflation, will they have to become £1.20 land?

If there's hyperinflation they might become £2 land or even £10 land or even... "Yes, everything's just £10,000! (Friday 27th)"
I'm joking, I hope.

paulwf

Advertised rent + service charge for the unit my local Poundland took was around £135K. They may have a downmarket image but they must have a very professional setup to pay rents like that in a smallish town.

Rent + service charge for a fairly small unit inside the shopping centre is over £90K, at least £50K more than you'd pay for on the high st which is actually busier. No wonder so many shopping centre chains have gone bust in the recession.

Widelats

In Newcastle shops are boarded up all over the place in the suburbs, plus small colleges closed down, lots of it. No new shops opened but plenty of spaces for anything new.

cavework

Evesham.
Loads of work to 'enhance' the High Street which looks great ,but shops boarded up left right and centre.The shopping centre is half empty
Large stores such as Argos, Currys relocating to the outskirts where Morrisons and Tesco,s have set up shop
Marks and Spencer now gone.. .
The parking is now a nightmare and the town hall right in the middle of the town is a complete eyesore but try telling this to the powers that be!
Our Post office was moved to the shopping centre as part of Budgens, they left and the Post Office was then relocated back to it,s original site?
The town hall was originally open underneath, there is an open air market on a Saturday in the square adjacent to the town hall . How hard would it be to relocate this market to be undercover below the town hall and bring it back to life?
The Public hall is now also closed.. too many jobsworths with not enough vision

dell12

The vacancy rate in my town (Macclesfield) must be around 10%.

That said there is always a pretty high turnover of shops, so as soon as one closes there's one opening. The can be little doubt though that the recession has hit hard though. Rent in the centre are still unaffordable for all but the largest chain shops though unfortunately.

newsseller12

Come and have a walk round Blackpool... I think its closed!!