Galleries to tackle empty shops blight

Hazel Blears

Empty shops will be turned into art galleries or handed-over for community use under a new Government scheme aimed a rescuing high streets from blight and decline.

Temporarily converting empty shops into social enterprises, local art displays or learning centres will help innovative communities in the North West prevent high streets declining, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said.

Ms Blears is chairing a seminar in Stockport with Culture Secretary Andy Burnham on tackling 'recession in the high street' with councils, business leaders, landlords and town centre managers.

The Government is also announcing new measures and up to £3 million to help communities find creative ways to reduce the negative impact empty shops have on the high street - vital for town centre and business confidence.

The new provisions, including special planning application waivers, standard interim-use leases and temporarily leasing shops to councils, will allow empty shops to get makeovers for use as cultural, community or learning services.

A vacant unit on George Street in Altrincham is already being used as a base by a local charity, G-Force, which helps young people and disadvantaged groups in the area.

Artists in Bolton have also been given permission to use two empty shop units for gallery space and a workshop. And children in Barrow-in-Furness have been helping to decorate the town's empty shop windows as part of a '100 years of history' exhibition.

Plans are also being developed in Chorley to set up a semi-permanent exhibition because of how popular turning empty shops into craft exhibitions, informal learning, and summer music workshops have proved.

Many towns are decorating empty shops to promote local businesses and tourist attractions to visitors, and councils can also use licensing powers to permit events like farmers markets that bring local produce to the high street.

A new practical guide, Looking after our Town Centres, identifies the best ways to keep town centres thriving, and the steps that communities can take.

The Government will introduce new rules soon to give existing shops that serve the community, such as local post offices and pubs, extra protection. These steps are part of wider action to help business during the downturn.

Hazel Blears said: "Town centres are the heartbeat of every community, and businesses are the foundation, so it is vital that they remain vibrant places for people to meet and shop throughout the downturn.

"Empty shops can be eyesores or crime magnets. Our ideas for reviving town centres will give communities the know how to temporarily transform vacant premises into something innovative for the community - a social enterprise, a showroom for local artists or an information centre - and stop the high street being boarded up.

"Our town centre first planning rules and business rate deferments are also helping small businesses in more direct ways during this difficult time."

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Culture and creativity are part of the answer to tough economic times. Liverpool's success as European Capital of Culture showed what culture can do to build people and places and create a sense of confidence and pride. I believe that, now more than ever, we should play to our strengths as a creative nation.

"Nobody wants to see town centres fade and decay. By transforming otherwise empty town centre premises into hubs for culture and creativity, we can regenerate both the physical space itself and the hope and ambition of all those that have a stake in them. And in the longer term, by giving people the opportunity to develop we stand a good chance of creating something of lasting benefit, not just for those individuals but also for our economy as we move out of this recession."

Skills Secretary John Denham added: "We want to make sure that our town and city centres continue to be vibrant and at the heart of our communities. In our recent White Paper, the 'Learning Revolution', the Government laid out how it will continue to support informal adult learning which we know has benefits beyond the pleasure of learning in itself.

"We don't want to see space, such as unused shops on our high streets, go to waste especially when we know that people can put that space to good use for meeting up and learning for fun. Today's revival plan will give our communities the tools they need to reinvigorate unused space."

Full details of Looking after our Town Centres guide can be found at www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/towncentres

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