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How Many Empty Shops In Hereford 2014?


Colin James

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shell I go on?

 

 

I shall.... no public toilets, empty shops, cheap shops who's windows are either wallpapered with posters so that you can't see inside or signage that is printed canvas draped over the previous tenants, doorways full of vomit and human excrement, said shops with piles of cheap tat littering the street outside.....

 

 

 It just seems that the empty shop units are left to rot whilst we have a replacement which is no different to the tat that was previous sold at the outdoor market. ie like the stall that sells 50 million sorts of phone covers all of which seem as cheap and nasty as each other. 

 

 

I'm not "against" the market stalls, however, I think it's wrong that the buildings are empty and people are trading in the streets.

There are some great stalls but yes, there are some awful ones as well - a stack of mattresses under a tarpaulin, said mobile phone accessories. I have before and will again, liken it to a beach side strip in somewhere like Bulgaria. The only thing missing is the guy standing in front of M&S with a pile of fake designer handbags on the floor

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Hereford Times
10:17am Tuesday 4th March 2014 in News
 

Independent Hereford fashion store on the move

 
AN independent Hereford fashion retailer is on the move – but is sticking with the city centre.
 
FIT – currently based in High Town – was set to shut up shop last July with the intention of focusing on its online store.
 
But last autumn the Cookmate Kitchen Shop on Widemarsh Street announced it was closing and since then, FIT owner Luke Conod has been working with Herefordshire Council to get the "right deal".
 
He said that while High Town is not the right thing for the company going forward, it is "delighted" to be getting a new home in the city.
 
The old FIT store will close on Friday while the new one is expected to open on March 28.

 

 

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Hereford Times
10:17am Tuesday 4th March 2014 in News
 

 

 

 

Yeah ... Saw that ... I dunno exactly what the 'right deal' is but Luke must have a reason to throw money at a shop in Widemarsh Street or he wouldn't bother ... what with his internet business ... Has he negotiated some sort of preferential deal with the business rates? Rent? I only ask as I don't know! 

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Heard a rumour that Hunkydory in Church Street is also to close. It's a shame. A lovely little place with very friendly and polite staff.

The friend who mentioned this to me after visiting the shop last weekend, said the sales staff reported a pretty imminent closure.

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  • 1 month later...

I see in HT, that Paddy Power have applied for a gambling license for 11, 12 and 13 St Peters Square.....its in the Public Notices section.

 

Whilst its good that premises don't stand empty.....it's not exactly a retail attraction is it??

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I see in HT, that Paddy Power have applied for a gambling license for 11, 12 and 13 St Peters Square.....its in the Public Notices section.

 

Whilst its good that premises don't stand empty.....it's not exactly a retail attraction is it??

 

I got a Paddy Power Account ... on the internet ... There must be a motive for this application ... Attracting drunks/old folk who don't know how to use the Web? 

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Well, it's going to be quite big!!

 

I hear that Phase 8, one of the shops that used to be here, is opening up within Debenhams....so that's another one that won't be back anytime soon!

 

By the way, Roger.....it's not just the "old folks" who aren't that great at using t'interweb!!

I'm worse than useless!!

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I don't bet and agree that their shops don't add much to the centre but I see this more in the context of a national company seeing Hereford as a place where they can invest and do business. Yes they will make a profit and take money away but there will be a few jobs and we won't have an empty couple of shops. It is a shame that they could not have gone into the site a few doors away but the owners of that are so short sighted that they want a tenant on board before they rebuild

Now the Old Market is opening hopefully some of the landlords in the city centre will review the rents they charge so that all those local people, who we are constantly told want to open shops but can't afford it, may well get their chance

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There must be a motive for this application

 

 

 

I don't know what their motive is, but I'm pretty sure it will go through as it will enable the council to keep the day drinkers and betting shop campers further away from the OLM, taking them away from William Hill so as to not tarnish their beloved monollith

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I don't know what their motive is, but I'm pretty sure it will go through as it will enable the council to keep the day drinkers and betting shop campers further away from the OLM, taking them away from William Hill so as to not tarnish their beloved monollith

 

_74435171_williamhill.jpg

 

William Hill has said it will close 109 shops this year, putting 430 jobs at risk, as a result of the government's decision to increase duty on fixed-odds betting machines.

 

 

BBC News

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We seem to have quite a few bookies in Hereford. Am I correct in thinking there is a limit in place?

 

Don't think so. 

 

According to The Independent newspaper Councils want improved powers to prevent betting shops 'clustering' in streets. They are particularly concerned about the Fixed Odds gambler machines that enables you to potentially lose £100 every 20 seconds. 

 

Independent

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Ah see, Roger points out that WH are closing some outlets, that'll keep the day time drinkers and gamblers nicely away from the OLM.

 

Funny though isn't it, how they don't want betting shops clustered, they wouldn't want sex shops clustered, yet are happy to pack in as many foreign food shops as they can into a small space.

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We seem to have quite a few bookies in Hereford. Am I correct in thinking there is a limit in place?

 

_72680706_72680705.jpg

 

 

Councils in England are to get stronger powers to prevent "harm" being done by an "explosion" of bookmakers on High Streets, the government has announced.

Betting shops are currently in the same building usage category as banks and estate agents, meaning no planning permission is needed to open one.

This will be changed so that local authorities can scrutinise proposals.

Planning minister Nick Boles said the measure would help to promote "healthy and vibrant" town centres.

But Labour warned the change would do "nothing" to help areas that already had too many betting shops.

 

 

BBC News Link

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Attended the launch of the Hereford Business Improvement District (BID) tonight. This is the only way forward for the city centre. OLM is not big enough to offer a destination shopping centre - it only has 20 shops. The historic centre has 300 and those businesses need to thrive in order for the whole of the city to develop successfully. BID funding enables local businesses to decide their own projects over and above Council services. A successful BID would enable a co-ordinated approach to marketing and promoting the city's retail offer. We all need to get behind this initiative. See www.surveymonkey.com/s/herefordbid

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Harry!

 

I have had a look at the survey - very interesting! I started to complete it, then realised, on Page 3, that this survey is only designed for business owners!!

 

Would it be worth publishing a shortened version to gauge the publics views??

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  • 4 months later...

A long time since anyone commented on the situation in the town centre. My impression is that it is a lot worse.

 

Paul Bothamley, Chairman of Hereford Civic Society and his article in the Hereford Times (September 25th p3) pointed out that almost one in three shops in Hereford City Centre stands empty this week. Fourteen of the 47 stores in High Town and St Peters Street are vacant leading to calls for urgent and definite action. The article covered comments he made about the effect the OLM  was having on High Town, the better use of High Town for events and creating a "grand square" similiar to many european cities.

 

However John Jones, Chairman of BID and Mike Ashton from the County Chamber of Commerce tend to disagree on blaming the OLM for the downturn in High Town, saying that there is a lot going for High Town. John Jones says "The overall vacancy rate is a lot lower than the rest of the country" and Mike Ashton stating "That footfall has increased exponentially in High Towh and St Peters Street since the new development opened"

 

No one mentioned the burnt out buildings.

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I agree with John Jones - He is in fact correct.

The empty shops in Hereford - as a ratio compared to other towns - we are actually on the low end.

 

I personally think its partly a perception/location problem. As some of the empty stores in Hfd are in visible locations we tend to think its a much bigger problem.

 

Life is a funny thing - as perception is reality in many peoples cases. Like crime - crime in Hfd compared to other towns is incredibly low - however - as most Herefordians are not used to being in places where crime is much higher - then it FEELS like its a much bigger issue than it is.

 

The burnt out building - sadly - my understanding of the situation is this :

 

Landlord has no tenant to go in.

In the buildings current state - the landlord does not have to pay rates.

IF the building was all ready to go to a new tenant - ie NOT the eyesore that it is - the landlord would HAVE to pay rates on the building.

 

Why would the landlord get the building ready to go with no prospective tenant to take on the lease?

 

Out of the goodness of his/her heart?

 

I would guess the rates for that building would be in the region of 2k a week - possibly more - would YOU pay that if you didnt have to?

 

If I was in a position of power within the council I would take the landlord for a tea and biscuits chat - get him/her to get the building ready to go - and give them a pass on rates for a 18 month period. But hey - Im not in a position of power to make that happen.

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Percept - the mental result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; an impression or sensation of something perceived.

 

Does this mean that although the shops are empty - they really are not? So how many shops have to be empty so that we do not perceive them?
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Percept - the mental result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; an impression or sensation of something perceived.

 

Does this mean that although the shops are empty - they really are not? So how many shops have to be empty so that we do not perceive them?

Well - I never said I'm a smart man - possible I have used the wrong word here.

 

However my point still stands.

 

To answer your question - more empty shops than other towns would mean we have a bigger problem than other towns.

We have less empty units than other towns - hence our problem is smaller - however my suggestion is the location of our empty shops makes us feel the issue is bigger than it is.

 

But I'm sure you understood that.

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Hi Stupid Frustration,

 

I was a tad alarmed when I read your post about the River Island building, it sounds as if it is just going to be left. In the HT a few weeks ago, the impression was definitely given that the council were going to get to grips with this, and use powers to make the owner of the building sort it out.

 

Has this now stalled?

 

(I think there is a link to the HT story on another thread, but I can't find it at the moment!)

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Found it!!

 

The thread is "That Bomb Site in High Town,"

 

On August 25th, the council announced that they were serving a 215 order on the owner of the building. There is a facebook link to a Midlands Today news story, which states that the work should be carried ouT within 3 - 6 months of the order being served.

 

I guess the question is.....has the council served the order yet?????

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A long time since anyone commented on the situation in the town centre. My impression is that it is a lot worse.

 

Paul Bothamley, Chairman of Hereford Civic Society and his article in the Hereford Times (September 25th p3) pointed out that almost one in three shops in Hereford City Centre stands empty this week. Fourteen of the 47 stores in High Town and St Peters Street are vacant leading to calls for urgent and definite action. The article covered comments he made about the effect the OLM  was having on High Town, the better use of High Town for events and creating a "grand square" similiar to many european cities.

 

However John Jones, Chairman of BID and Mike Ashton from the County Chamber of Commerce tend to disagree on blaming the OLM for the downturn in High Town, saying that there is a lot going for High Town. John Jones says "The overall vacancy rate is a lot lower than the rest of the country" and Mike Ashton stating "That footfall has increased exponentially in High Towh and St Peters Street since the new development opened"

 

No one mentioned the burnt out buildings.

That would make it 103 empty shops......

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