I have heard this from a few different people across the country but it doesnt feel consistently true everywhere. Small parades in poor places do have the highest vacancy rates nationally though even compared to town/city centres in the same places (we have got 2 big papers on this out soon)

Commercial landlords will also look at rent reliefs as an opportunity to raise rents in many cases. Having lots of small retail/hospitality companies that are allergic to modernisation/change of any kind, with no competition, is about as perfect a system that rentseekers could ever ask for

Yep. It feels more plausible to me that it is in part a problem of peoples incomes, *but then also* shops and other companies on high streets outside of expensive areas seem unable to figure out, and then offer, the products and experiences those people actually want

Also, I hear rates blamed all the time for empty units around here, but on the typical local high street outside of the more expensive areas, most small businesses will be exempt from business rates anyway.

I know @centreforcities.bsky.social have been making a similar argument lately: www.centreforcities.org/blog/no-busi...

I will eventually get round to writing something on why maybe the so-called death of the high street is actually an innovation problem above all else....

Is one reason I am very skeptical of the very popular "cut business rates for small high street firms" solution. I have seen zero evidence it would do anything other than subsidise zombie firms that have not made any effort to innovate in either their product or service offer since the 1990s

This government may be set to oversee a huge rise in homelessness and it is beyond me why that would be allowed to happen

Homelessness policy for years now has been overly focussed on demand management, and there is a huge lack of will to go big on policies we know work e.g. Housing First

Very sad

Not too late!