Bring down shop rents!

Fiona Howard 1564 - 1564 • Published 5 Mar 2009 09:30

Helensburgh seafront will have fifteen shops lying empty by the end of the month.

That"s the grim forecast amid fears that the 'writing could be on the wall' for some sectors of the retail community unless steps are taken to halt the decline.

And the Burgh"s 'Edinburgh rents' are being blamed for the plague of closures.

While small businesses everywhere are benefiting from the Scottish Government"s large reductions in business rates, many of Helensburgh"s business people are penalised by high rents.

The rent for a building is used in the calculations of rateable value and the higher the rent the higher the value. However, the lower rates are paid by lower rateable value businesses and the higher the value the higher the element of rates paid.

The whole issue of Helensburgh"s rapidly dwindling retail community was raised at a meeting of Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce when Councillor Vivien Dance urged the Chamber to tackle the issue of high rents.

This week she said: 'The feedback I have been getting from Helensburgh shopkeepers is that it all comes down to the exorbitant rents some landlords are charging.

'One lady who gave up her shop last year told me that when she did some research she found she was paying Edinburgh rent for a small shop in Helensburgh.

'Another moved to Loch Lomond Shores where she is getting increased footfall and the rent is half what she was paying in Helensburgh.'

The empty property rate relief only applies for six months and then the owner has to start paying, and Councillor Dance said: 'Surely it makes more sense to have someone in the shop paying a reasonable regular rent than to have empty properties not bringing in anything.'

She continued: 'This is becoming a big issue. Very soon there will be 15 empty shops on the seafront and some in other parts of the town.

'There is a knock-on effect from this in that people get fed up and stop visiting the seafront so the businesses that are left begin to suffer.

'The small retailers that are Helensburgh"s main feature are being driven away. While there is a downturn, and we are not alone in this, I think the writing is on the wall and unless something is done the people who are still coming to the town will stop coming.'

Tweet

This article appeared in Barrhead News 05 Mar 09

Follow @barrheadnews

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.