Mansfield Council bid to tackle empty shops with new powers
Mansfield Council is launching a consultation on a new scheme, introduced by the UK Government, that could force landlords to lease long term empty commercial units through an auction system known as the High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) scheme.
HSRAs are new powers that allow local authorities in England to force landlords to rent out commercial properties that have been empty for long periods of time.
The scheme will be used across a designated area of Mansfield town centre where several units have remained vacant for extended periods.
The council is participating in the scheme as part of a national programme.
The aim of the scheme is to support local businesses, community organisations and start-ups that are looking to establish themselves in the town centre.
The scheme gives the council powers to bring long term vacant commercial properties back into use.
Where landlords fail to rent out eligible properties themselves, the council can step in and market them through an auction process.
The council is delivering this scheme alongside an ambitious programme of town centre regeneration, including the development of the new £30m Mansfield Connect project, public realm improvements across the town centre and the redevelopment of the White Hart Street, a former retail site which has stood empty for several years, will be transformed to provide new social housing.
The council is required to bring forward an initial consultation on designating an HSRA area within the town centre, focusing on locations with long term vacant properties, which fall outside of existing or proposed developments.
The consultation is open until October 18 and the scheme will be launched by October 26.
Executive Mayor of Mansfield, Andy Abrahams said: "We've been listening to what people in Mansfield have been telling us about how it feels to see empty shops in our town centre, and this gives us the power to tackle that issue.
"We'll be engaging directly with owners of properties that stand empty for long periods of time and challenging them to get them back into use.
"There are businesses, entrepreneurs and community groups that would love the opportunity to set up in our town centre and we want to open the door to them.
"We are very much open to conversations with the owners of properties which have been vacant for a long period and if the HSRA process brings this about, I would urge them to come forward and talk to us.”
To qualify for the HSRA scheme, premises must have been continuously unoccupied for at least one year, or for a total of 366 days within a 24 month period.
The council must also be satisfied that bringing the property back into use would be beneficial to the local economy, society or environment.
For more information about the HSRA scheme in Mansfield, visit mansfield.gov.uk/High-Street-Rental-Auctions
To take part in the consultation or to report any empty units in the town centre, people can send in their comments to [email protected] or write to HSRA, Mansfield District Council, Civic Centre, Chesterfield Road South, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 7BH.