1. From The Daily Mail, "Developers stun residents by erecting fake building overnight after recession halts two block construction":
2. From The Metro "Recession-hit Redcar sets up fake shops" (OK, this is a fake house) :
3. From Sandwell MBC's website: "Empty Sandwell Shops Get A Facelift":
Cue Robin Smith who will explain why this is a symptom of landlords deliberately withholding premises from the market in order to drive up the rents of surrounding shops, which seems a bit self-defeating to me.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Potemkin Villages in the UK
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6 comments:
Mmm. Councillors do not have the foggiest idea about why shops stand vacant. I can go through it with them in child like terms and they still dont get it.
They approve planning for a new superstore and wonder why fewer go into the town anymore. Nor why the new SS has raised the rents for small tenants and lost them biz. Double whammy.
What LL's are doing is self defeating in the end. I'm not sure exactly if they realise this yet. Most I hear about do not seem to. But they do realise they are in a battle with the superstores.
The truth is that they will screw the last bit of rent out of the tenants and still own the land at the end vacant or not. And the most successful will be the last ones standing and mop up the residue at fire sale prices. When the economy recovers they start from a higher level. This happened in of all places Henley on Thames Tarzan's and Boris's constituency. It's how come most high st's are owned by a few large landlords. The monopoly tends to concentrate ownership.
But that rent problem is temporary and there is a new master on the way
The superstore problem will see the end of the high street anyway, so what...?
Its a vote we make with our pockets, just as powerful as at the ballot
Rather than gloss over the empty shop fronts with pretend visages, the council should be offering proper incentives to get businesses into the empty shops. Things like a discount on business rates, encouraging landlords to give discounts on rents. Maybe even no business rates for small craft shops so long as their profits are below certain limits. Anything to get people to visit.
All the visages do is make a grotty empty place look like a nice empty place. The place is still empty. An empty place doesn't make people want to visit for any reason. So no business would find it a benefit to have such shop fronts.
The fake building in Manchester is actually a good use of a visage. That's because people aren't being encouraged to visit the place, all it's doing is hiding unsightly scaffolding/building site. It could be classified as a form of advertising indicating the kind of flats that would be available if people bought them.
SBML: "the council should be offering proper incentives to get businesses into the empty shops."
Agreed.
"Things like a discount on business rates, encouraging landlords to give discounts on rents. Maybe even no business rates for small craft shops..."
Aargh! What we need is massive hikes in business rates on EMPTY premises, not tax breaks for occupied ones.
Absolutely. A big surcharge on business rates for empty premises could be used to reduce the business rates for the small craft shops, greengrocers, etc. And I mean big. That in itself would bring down rents smartish.
SBML:
[robin steps outside with shotgun, places in mouth, pulls trigger]
Derek:
Quite:
Business rates ARE rent. Collected for public revenue not private
I always ask complaining tenants what they think would happen if the biz rates were abolished. After about 10 seconds thought, the amount of time it takes to engage brain for the first time, they go "oh yeah, the rent would go up won't it?"
Yup! Funny thing is they NEVER complain about the rent. Only the rates. Thats cos they are scared stiff of the landlord. And have "agency" with the council
Come the revolution I would raise rates to 100% of the annual rental value immediately. No compensation. The landlord has been receiving a free gift. They are no longer getting it. Be happy I as president do not call around for a refund.
RS, to clarify my previous comment, when I'm in charge, Business Rates will be (approx.) trebled, no back chat, no exemptions, and VAT and corporation tax etc. will be scrapped.
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