The health of our town and shopping centres

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Paul Turner-Mitchell

The Local Data Company’s (LDC) latest shop vacancy report, titled ‘More Clicks, Less Bricks’, provides detailed insight and analysis on the health of town centres, shopping centres and retail parks across Great Britain.

Paul Turner-Mitchell, director of award-winning 25Ten fashion boutique in Rochdale, analyses the data for Rochdale for Rochdale Online.

"Year on year, for Rochdale town centre, we have witnessed an increase in vacancy rates rising from 16.8% in October 2011 to 18.6% in August 2012. Whilst this is less than the regional average for the North West, the rate is likely to increase somewhat over the coming months with a number of local stores that have closed or are facing closures.

"Middleton’s figures showing that one in four shops are now empty are, sadly, unsurprising and had a direct correlation to the opening of the Tesco Extra store in the heart of the centre. In June 2010, just a month before the opening of Tesco, the vacancy rate was 10.8%. A year later that rocketed to 24.4% and has stayed constant since.

"The Council need to urgently look at stimulating inward investment into our town centres and need to use the new powers bestowed upon them under the Localism Act to offer business rate discounts, spread business rate payments over 12 months for all and look at reversing car parking charge increases that will come into effect in April.

"While taxpayers' money is continually used to buy up empty properties and pave the way for long term regeneration commitments that are at best shaky, there is very little focus or strategy for the short-term. Towns that fail to invest now and build confidence in their shopping areas simply will not have the foundations in place to fulfil vague, long-term regeneration aspirations and are going to leave taxpayers with big bills to pay when these plans fail to materialise."