Latest news with #highstreets
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
High street empty shops action needed, expert says
The challenge posed by empty shops in Wales is "too big for the tools we are using", a property expert has Sutton, a chartered surveyor, said a lack of coordinated action meant cities such as Newport - which in 2021 was found to have more empty shops than any other city in the UK - had Sutton said the Welsh government and councils needed to be "heavily involved" in solving the problem, pointing to towns like Caernarfon which had found ways to Welsh government said it was working with trade bodies and trade unions to find solutions, while Newport council said footfall in the city was rising. Despite millions of pounds of public funding and a number of reports into the issue over the years, many Welsh high streets have continued to decline.A recent study found most small businesses wanted to be in town centres, but many were looking for office or workshop space rather than Street, Newport's main shopping street, remains a patchwork of boarded up premises and vacant despite calls for action, many visibly empty shops are not available for are tied up with long leases or are held by sometimes anonymous landlords who are unwilling to rent them out. Mr Sutton said the problem was not a lack of ideas but a lack of coordinated action."We don't need another report," he said. "We need implementation."Mr Sutton, the former chair of Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Wales, said the sometimes confused ownership of empty shops also restricted options."Our retail centres are probably the location with the most mixed ownerships," he said."Trying to masterplan regeneration is incredibly difficult when ownership is so fragmented."He said larger empty stores needed to be refurbished "and perhaps subdivided down to smaller units" to attract new tenants. Away from Commercial Street, independent businesses who have revitalised one of the city's arcades said Newport should not be judged on the state of its main shopping street."I think it's kind of like one big family in this arcade. It feels a community, as opposed to a bunch of just separate shops," said Jax Jones, who co-owns the Mythos tattoo training at another shop, he opened his own studio in the city centre but felt frustrated that the wider strategy in Newport appeared to be on enticing the big brands."Newport, at least for the last 10 years or so, has really put that focus on big business to the detriment of independents," he said the decline of stores like Debenhams provided an opportunity to support smaller local businesses."Given the chance, we can really see that independent business can thrive," he added, with "even a taxidermy shop" doing well in the arcade. 'Look beyond the empty shops' Newport City Council disputed the 2021 Centre for Cities data that showed the city had the UK's worst empty shops problem and said it was working to reduce vacancies and support independent businesses."Transforming the city centre's fortunes is not something that can happen overnight or by the council on its own," said councillor James council said footfall was rising - up 2.6% in 2024 - and nearly two thirds of city centre units were now occupied by independents. It also pointed to successful regeneration projects like Newport Market, and urged people to "look beyond the empty shops" to see the progress being made. Caernarfon, in Gwynedd, is among the town centres which are thriving despite the setbacks elsewhere."It's a small town with huge character," said Sue Kirk, whose souvenir and toy shop is in the centre of said the ease of buying online meant she had needed to "find things that are not readily available on the internet"."And if you can fill that gap and appeal to your customer base, you have a winning formula," she local Business Improvement District (BID) in Caernarfon works to keep shopkeepers informed of events and address problems Ms Kirk, it comes down to a simple idea: "Collaboration.""[There is a] strong connection between business owners, so that if we have a problem or if we have an idea, we can move together," she Strain, manager of the BID, said the lack of a shopping centre in Caernarfon had allowed the high street to thrive."We don't have a shopping centre. People might think it's a bad thing, but I think it's a very good thing," said Mr Strain."We've got a lot of commercial properties that are smaller, easier to fill and ideal for the many independent businesses that we've got here in town."Mr Sutton said other towns across Wales would need support in order to achieve similar results."We need local leadership," he said, "but also the local authority and Welsh government need to be heavily involved in this, and they really need to drive it forward."He said there was also the opportunity for "regeneration companies and development corporations" to coordinate and tackle empty added a change in how businesses were taxed could make a difference."We should be incentivising private sector development through wider use classes and property taxation reform," Mr Sutton Welsh government said in May that it was considering cutting business rates for smaller retail shops to help them compete with online retailers and to create "more vibrant high streets".A Welsh government spokesperson said retail was "experiencing a period of challenge and change"."Our retail action plan, developed in partnership with sector representatives, sets out the actions we are taking to ensure a successful, innovative, sustainable and resilient retail presence in Wales that offers fair, secure and rewarding work."The spokesperson also said the government's transforming towns programme would provide £40m for 2025 and 2026 to develop town centres and "breathe new life" into spaces.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Adult gaming centres failing to help problem gamblers self-exclude
Flaws in a scheme meant to help gamblers bar themselves from 24-hour slot machine shops have been described by the industry regulator as 'very concerning', following revelations in a BBC documentary. The Guardian has previously revealed how gambling operators are exploiting favourable planning and licensing laws to flood UK high streets with 'adult gaming centres' (AGCs), which are disproportionately concentrated in the poorest areas. The shops must offer self-exclusion schemes to customers who fear they have a problem with slot machines, which are consistently linked with higher rates of addiction than products such as sports betting. But a documentary by BBC File on 4 Investigates, due to be broadcast on Tuesday evening, found that in one UK city 13 out of 14 venues failed to implement the scheme properly. An undercover reporter for the programme signed up to exclude himself from all AGCs within a 40km radius of Game Nation, a slot machine venue in Portsmouth. He was prevented from entering the Game Nation branch soon after, indicating that the company's self-exclusion scheme worked. That attempt to breach the self-exclusion should have triggered a warning to all staff in 'neighbouring' venues, including those owned by other companies, according to Gambling Commission guidance. But despite the initial self-exclusion – followed by the subsequent attempt to breach it – the reporter was able to walk into 13 other venues and use the slot machines, including a branch of Merkur Slots just 100 metres away. Staff at the branch of Merkur, the UK's second-largest AGC operator after the Austrian-owned Admiral, offered to help him play the machines and bring him snacks. Merkur, owned by the German gaming company Gauselmann, was fined almost £100,000 this year after the Guardian revealed that staff allegedly exploited a terminally ill cancer patient, who has since died. A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said: 'We take protecting consumers extremely seriously.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The regulator said the findings of the documentary were 'very concerning and we will be taking urgent steps to investigate what has happened'. It added: 'Alongside our work, local authorities licence premises in their local areas and are funded, through the licence fee they charge, to inspect gambling business in their area to ensure those businesses are compliant.' Merkur said: 'As a business we work within the confines of the industry self-exclusion scheme and always follow best endeavours to support customers who have voluntarily or otherwise decided to enter into the industries [sic] self-exclusion schemes.'
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Retailers call for urgent national action on high street crime
'Flagship' high streets, including London's Oxford Street, are at risk without urgent national action on crime, a consortium of retailers has said. Once seen as a major shopping destination, Oxford Street has struggled in recent years – becoming better known for phone snatching and sweet shops. High Streets UK, a group that represents 5,000 UK businesses, is calling for ring-fenced funding for police to protect key shopping destinations. The body includes members from business improvement districts in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Dee Corsi, chair of High Streets UK and chief executive of founding member New West End Company, said: 'Flagship high streets are engines of the local and national economy, drivers of tourism, and anchors for communities. But without urgent national action on crime, they are at serious risk. 'We have welcomed the Government's renewed focus on retail crime in particular. 'But we must go further and faster to tackle all types of crime affecting high streets, having a devastating effect on businesses and communities, tarnishing the UK's global reputation, and jeopardising tourism and investment.' According to the most recent official statistics, the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in 2024 surpassed 500,000 for the first time. Ms Corsi said it is critical for additional funding for policing in the upcoming spending review to be ring-fenced for key high streets. 'The UK's flagship high streets are important cultural and economic centres – with High Street UK locations generating over £50 billion in economic value every year – yet growing complex challenges around crime and anti-social behaviour put these locations at risk,' she said. 'Take London's West End – the internationally renowned home to Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street is an important driver of jobs, investment, and tourism, contributing 3% of the capital's economic activity. 'Despite this, continued underfunding of policing has left it facing real issues including anti-social behaviour, shop theft and organised business crime. 'Through the collective voice of High Streets UK, we are calling for the Government to recognise the value of these locations – as economic hubs, anchors for community, and tourism destinations – by ring-fencing dedicated police support. 'Failing to do so puts growth, and flagship high streets, at serious risk.' High Streets UK held its second quarterly meeting on Wednesday, drawing up four key points that it is urging the Government to tackle. Ms Corsi added: 'At our Safer High Streets Forum, we shared our frontline experience of the international criminal gangs, business crime, prolific offenders and anti-social behaviour affecting our high streets – none of which can be meaningfully tackled with the current systems and resources in place.' High Streets UK has called for boosted police numbers around high streets, separately measuring performance for the specific areas. It wants immediate jail terms for those who breach criminal behaviour orders, quicker sentencing for crimes linked to retail, and a focus on repeat offenders. And it is calling for national measures to tackle organised crime that affects high streets including begging gangs, and the creation of a national framework for businesses to report crime. Chief Inspector Luke Dillon, from the Metropolitan Police team responsible for policing the West End, said: 'Tackling offences such as shoplifting and phone theft remains a priority for the Met as we know the negative impact these crimes have on Londoners, tourists and businesses. 'We are working with businesses to respond to their concerns, and we have increased targeted patrols in hotspot areas to identify and deter perpetrators. We're also using new tactics, such as investing in Sur-Ron e-bikes, to help us catch more offenders.'
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Britain's high streets turning into ‘ghosts towns' and are now overrun with vape shops and takeaways
BRITAIN'S high streets are turning into 'ghost towns', a report warns. The decline — which has sped up over the last decade — has seen assets such as banks, pharmacies, libraries and public loos vanish. 2 And many areas are now overrun by vape shops, bookies and takeaways. The change is most stark in deprived areas struggling with health and economic inequalities in the North, according to research by academics at Health Equity North. Professor Clare Bambra, from Newcastle University, said: 'You should be able to walk down a high street and feel the uniqueness, culture and identity of that community. 'Through innovative design, better public transport, and measures that promote people over cars, we can re-think these spaces so they become 'go-tos' rather than 'ghost towns'.' Her colleague Prof Adam Todd added: 'Our high streets feel like a shadow of themselves. "Protecting these spaces for the next generation isn't just about restoring them to some nostalgic vision of town centres past.' Since 2014, the number of takeaway shops has risen 24 per cent across England — 30 per cent in the most deprived areas. The amount of vape shops has risen 1,200 per cent in that time, while there are three times more bookies now in poorer places. Why are so many pubs and bars closing? 2
Entrepreneur
22-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Aditya Birla's TMRW Expands Physical Presence with LiteStore Partnership
With this partnership, TMRW and LiteStore will open 25,000 square feet of new store space in the next 18 months. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. TMRW, a modern house of fashion and lifestyle brands from the Aditya Birla Group, has partnered with LiteStore, a retail-as-a-service expert, to bring its popular online brands into physical stores across India. TMRW is home to well-known names like Wrogn, Bewakoof, The Indian Garage Co., and Nobero. These brands are loved online, but now, thanks to LiteStore, they will also be available in malls, high streets, and premium outlet centers. "As an organisation, TMRW's singular mission is to create greater value for our customers," said Manish Singhai, CBO and Business Head at TMRW. "The agility, transparency, and retail expertise offered by LiteStore helped us bring our vision to life." LiteStore is no stranger to offline success. They've helped brands like NewMe and The Pant Project open real stores. They offer everything from choosing the right location to designing and building the store, hiring staff, and managing day-to-day operations. With this partnership, TMRW and LiteStore will open 25,000 square feet of new store space in the next 18 months. Stores will include exclusive drand stores, multi-brand stores, and premium outlet centers. "Retail today is not just about presence, but about adaptability and experience," said Puneet Dinesh, Co-founder of LiteStore. "Our model allows brands to test and refine their offline strategy while remaining agile." And the results are already showing. Bewakoof opened its first store at Forum South Mall in Bangalore, along with high-street locations in HSR Layout and Koramangala. Wrogn launched its flagship outlet in HSR Layout, while Nobero opened in Amanora Mall, Pune. Other TMRW brands like Urbano, Veirdo, and Juneberry joined FLXY, a multi-brand outlet designed for Gen Z and millennials in Pune. This collaboration blends the strength of digital-first brands with the power of real-world shopping. With LiteStore's plug-and-play model, TMRW is bringing exciting, well-designed stores closer to customers across India. By working together, TMRW and LiteStore are changing the way India shops—making fashion more accessible, enjoyable, and innovative.
