DCSIMG

1,000 commercial outlets empty in Northampton


Published on Tuesday 26 May 2009 09:34

More than 1,000 commercial outlets are lying empty in Northampton, the Chron can reveal.

A 30-page list of all 1,079 empty commercial properties was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, including more than 200 units in out-of-town buildings and industrial estates, as well as some banks and high street shops in the town centre.

Brian Binley, Conservative MP for Northampton South, said: "That is a massive number. This is one of the things that is not helping us at all.

"We had a very sizable engineering industry, like Express Lifts and shoe manufacturers and those sorts of companies, which employed thousands of people. We have changed from that sort of town to a town where we are reliant on distribution and warehousing.

"That's a pity for a town like Northampton, which has always prided itself on its ability to earn its own money."

He added: "Great expectation of schemes from the Government have now caused great disappointment. I think we have a long way to go before confidence is restored. People aren't confident and they don't spend money."

Angela Rushton, chairman of the Northamptonshire branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said empty commercial units were a big problem during a recession because, by law, owners of the properties had to pay business rates regardless of whether the units were being used.

She said the regulations were brought in by the Government to prevent companies building properties and leaving them empty, purely to make a profit while property prices rose.

She said: "With the downturn, the problem is that a lot of commercial property owners cannot let them, rather than they don't want to let them.

"This is particularly true if you have an old building that needs to be done up. In Northampton there are quite a lot of old office buildings that are in need of a bit of TLC."

She added: "Empty commercial properties aren't good economically or in making the place look lived in and vibrant. On the whole it's really causing issues for people; it's making places look desolate."

A report on business properties for the year 2008, by commercial property adviser Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), suggested the 'empty business rates liability' had led to less speculative development in Northampton, driving land values down from the 'peak' in 2007.

Councillor Richard Church (Lib Dem, Kingsthorpe), portfolio holder for regeneration, said: "There is no doubt that Northampton is suffering during the recession like anywhere else, but I don't think it's particularly exceptional. Business parks are finding things difficult but I don't think Northampton is any worse off than anywhere else."


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