Political opinion: New powers for councils to fill vacant high street units welcomed by Peter Lamb MP

High Street Rental Auction powers will grant local councils the ability to step in and put a property to rental auction where it has sat vacant for more than 365 days in a 24-month period. The new measures will prevent disengaged landlords from sitting on empty units which reduce the attractiveness of shopping areas and which could otherwise be supporting local economic growth and jobs.

The announcement comes as Labour takes action to breathe new life into our high streets after 14 years of Conservative economic mismanagement. Research shows that, by the time the Tories left office, 11.3% of retail units in the South East were left vacant.

In the eight months since taking, Labour has made revitalising high streets and town centres a core part of its Plan for Change. The party has already introduced measures to tackle late payments, cut taxes for small businesses, and driven down antisocial behaviour blighting high streets. A new Small Business Strategy will be introduced later this year.

Praising the change, Peter Lamb MP said: “Throughout my time as council leader we worked hard to attract new retail businesses into Crawley and improve facilities in the town centre. Unfortunately, on the ground there was only so much we could do with the powers we were given, making this an uphill struggle.

“It’s hard to overstate the difference of having a Government which is on your side, changing policies to support high street retail, while empowering councils to act where they feel appropriate to support their community.”