There were apparently moves made by the council to look into changing Prinny Quay into the new Hull Arena but for whatever reasons, after discussions with the owners that is a no go
There's zero chance of getting John Lewis in there. That was Prinny Quay's biggest mistake, they needed a department store anchor tenant and Allders was never going to cut it.
Rateable values are not set by the council, but if they had any sense, they'd have joined the government scheme that allowed councils to offer a 50% discount on business rates for 18 months, for any business moving into a retail unit that had been empty for over a year.
The problem is that a large number of businesses who tried that scheme found that after 18 months they were still not making enough to continue trading after they had to start paying again. We should remember that the government has exempted many small businesses & reduced the rates of others nationally for a number of years, yet businesses still keep going under I have a friend who has a small shop who went from paying £50 a month to paying nothing at all from 2010
No but with council budgets cut to the bone I don't think rebating business rates is the answer......compared to retail rents it is a drop in the ocean. I would prefer to see the owners of empty properties penalised financially to encourage lower rents making it much more affordable & would apply the same to owners of empty domestic property (I already charge lower rents on some of the houses I own to ensure their occupancy).
If a shop is empty, it generates no rates, at least if you get someone in it there's a chance it will start to generate rates in eighteen months. Anything that encourages a new business to open, to employ staff and improve the look of the city centre has to be a good idea, not getting involved in this scheme is simply ridiculous. No landlord wants an empty unit, market forces should determine that rents fall to fill them, though I agree, it does seem to take a hell of a long time.
Depends if there is a demand for a certain property in that area though & could encourage a business into a less suitable location simply because the business rates are lower, while a location in a more prosperous area would probably negate the business rate difference through added footfall. Often properties are left empty due to poor landlords, poor maintenance & the wrong location rather than the outright business costs.
I've seen things you people couldn't imagine... Mini Metros on fire off the Swinemoor Estate... I win election for me! FOR ME! please log in to view this image
It will be interesting to see what effect the new £120m shopping centre in Beverley will have on shopping in Hull(and Beverley town centre). For those who haven't seen it, there's a new shopping centre opposite Beverley Minster, anchored by a 40,000 sq ft Debenhams(along with Zara, H&M etc), along with a five screen cinema and an 80-bed hotel. please log in to view this image
Leeds is rammed every single day so it suggests that the product in Hull is wrong rather than shopping habits.
Was in Princess Quay on Saturday. What's with all the random art shops that nobody seems to actually go in? The place was dead compared to how busy it used to be. They need to move JD upstairs and have the entire bottom deck as the bowling, laser quest and restaurants.
And the only Premier League club shop, not only in the city but in Yorkshire should get the **** out of there and find in new site that has some passing trade.