Sheffield is a city which is used to change. When the steel industry collapsed in the 1980s, the city could have stood still and waited for something to happen, but instead it grabbed the bull by the horns and over years has been transforming itself into a city of sport.
So why would a recession hold it back? Sheffield is not about to let its high street die, so instead they have come up with an ingenious scheme to give independent shops a boost.
Community Interest Company (CIC) which is based in Sheffield is utilising empty commercial properties and offering them to entrepreneurs and independent shops on temporary short-term contracts. This will allow businesses on small budgets to trade on the high street without having to commit to a long lease – something which many businesses struggle to do.
Speaking of the scheme, Felicity Hoy, from CIC said: “With high rent prices independents are losing faith in high street retail. We aim to experiment with empty shops and rethink what the high street is and open these shops up to an independent market to inspire people to get back in to city centre retail.”
Landlords will be asked to meet with respective tenants to discuss relevant properties that can be used in the scheme. Landlords will be able to break the short lease, which will usually be around eight months maximum, by giving the tenant a grace period to terminate the trial.
The idea is a win win for everyone really, landlords get a tenant, independents get a chance to trade on the high street and the number of empty buildings decreases. Are you a small independent shop struggling to sign up to a long lease? Do you think more towns should be as forward thinking as Sheffield?
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