Shop Canvass
An idea from Tav that's supposedly already in progress regarding turning empty shops into something worthwhile instead of a blight on the road got me thinking simply because I am, to an extent, on the other side of the argument. So rather than fill up his comment box this needs a full entry.
I'll start with the fundamental premiss that this empty property belongs to someone, unlike residential property the council can't decide to just take it so the first step in opening it up requires agreement from the owner (unless some legislation has passed I don't know about).
Now why would the owner what to do this? Well as it stands they're losing money on this property, they have to pay rates on it without any income so if the Council take it over it's occupied and no money has to be paid. So that makes sense from the owner's point of view, but from the Council's that means they're losing that money. Now of course the Council could take it over and still have the owner paying rates, the incentive to the owner being the property in use, thus reducing vandalism; and the property being done up.
Regardless of motive let's assume the Council has moved in. Who's paying for the electricity and water? Who's paying for the staff? What if the owner finds someone willing to take it on how quickly can they get out?
If the Council lose the rate income and have to pay the incidentals the cost is likely to be huge certainly more than the paltry £52k mentioned in the Shuttle. If they expect the owner to pay, expect a string of foul language.
Perhaps the answer is that the Council pay the staff etc. and the owner gets a reduction in rates. Even so that's still a large cost to the Council. It's a good idea and I back it, but from my point of view once it touches the 'real world' it starts to hit a few problems.
2 comments:
Could it be managed by a not-for-profit organisation? The organisation could receive contributions/subscriptions from (1) local estate agents; (2) County and District Council; and, (3) local interest groups (e.g. police, shop-mobility). In return they can get their logo published on documentation.
When an empty shop becomes available the owner could pay part of the refurbishment cost, even the last tenants could contribute because they will want to remove their signage anyway due to bad PR. The empty shop gets fitted out as a white blank canvass, so no expensive printing costs or interior designing, just plan white façade and boards along the interior walls (painted white). My brother does this at his art studio periodically. The consultation/exhibition/museum will just bring their stock to the shop and hang them on the walls.
The owner will still own the shop and the property will still be up for rent/sale. He gets free or reduced business rates for doing this as long as he keeps the property on the market. Prospective tenants/buyers of the shop will see the shop in action similarly to buying a car; would you prefer to see the car running than one that's left dormant? The staff required could be seconded from the council/museum staff, you could even have a local school/college/university holding an exhibition and the students staffing the shop canvass as part of their course.
The utility bills would be paid by the not-for-profit organisation while the consultation/exhibition/museum was underway. In terms of vacating for the next tenant/buyer, I don’t see that as a problem, it would be only the stock that would need moving out. A friend of mine was enquiring into setting up a Subway store. They said once the contract was signed, they would get the shop fitted out in 24 hours, that includes ovens, toilets, plumbing, electrics etc...
If the finances don't add up then you could charge business to use a shop canvass as a satellite showroom, as long as they don’t sell or charge access into the shop canvass. For instance the West Midland Safari Park could have an exhibition, or a car dealership could put a car inside the shop canvass with promotional literature available. The businesses in these cases would supply the stock and the staff.
Yes that could work. If it was run by a nfp that would also mean there was no rates, the owner gets no income, but then again has nothing to pay.
The Council can contribute towards costs to make the nfp's more inclined to take it on which won't burn through that grant, and as you say rope in students or even those on the training courses to run or renovate the place.
There we go let's do that, oh wait we're not the Council; bet they go a different route.
Post a Comment