Vacant Union Street shops could be auctioned off to the highest bidder under plans being considered by Aberdeen City Council.
The intervention is one of 27 measures being proposed by local authority officers in response to the growing number of disused units on the Granite Mile.
Its Empty Shops Action Plan also lays bare the scale of the challenge, with 111 of the street's shops and offices - almost a quarter - currently lying mothballed.
However, new data also indicates that footfall in the city centre is beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels, with over two million visits in September.
Action plan
In a report due to go before councillors next Wednesday, its "menu" of options for the street includes a £1million regeneration fund, partly backed by the council to the tune of £500,000, to help reconfigure vacant shops "to the size that both consumers and businesses require".
It also proposes the provision of arcade space for entrepreneurs that want to pilot retail ventures – paying a peppercorn rent for a year before progressing to new space.
There are also plans to create precincts, or zones, on Union Street, as well and a number of smaller arts initiatives.
Rent auctions
One of the most eye-catching proposals is for potential 'rent auctions' to occupy vacant units.
This type of intervention was raised as part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. Under this proposal, the council could designate areas that are important to the local economy and have the power to hold a rent auction for any shop that has been empty for more than one year.
The purpose is to secure a tenant, and under the auction, a landlord of the property in question would be obliged to accept a bid from a prospective tenant, forcing the empty shop to be brought back into use.
However, the Scottish Government has indicated that a change in the law may be required to make this happen.
The current position
The plan also reveals the current position on Union Street. As of September 2022, the most recent data, there were 461 rateable units (at ground floor and above ground floor).
The occupied units generate over £9million in non-domestic rates (NDR). And of the 111 vacant units, over 80% receive 100% Empty Property Relief for the duration of inoccupancy due to the units meeting the criteria of being of listed building status. These reliefs will be devolved to local authorities from April and may be reviewed.
They represent around £1.1million of ‘lost revenue’, and, according to the report, may act as a disincentive to occupation of these premises.
Potential rates relief
If a vacant property is brought back into use, it is eligible for Fresh Start Relief which provides eligible businesses 100% relief on business rates for up to the first year of trading if:
- The unit has been in receipt of Empty Property Relief for a continuous period of at least six months immediately prior to the applicant’s occupation; and
- The unit has a rateable value of up to £95,000.
Of the 111 empty units, 107 meet these criteria and therefore qualify for Fresh Start Relief, delaying any rate liability. Of the 47 ground floor units, all but two would be eligible for Fresh Start relief, potentially offering a major boost to re-occupation plans.
Team effort required
In a joint foreword to the plan, Aberdeen City Council co-leaders Alex Nicoll and Ian Yuill said the local authority will need support to deliver on its ambitions.
They add: "The plan is a resource for all city centre stakeholders and partners.
"No one organisation can deliver these actions on their own and effective collaboration between the city’s stakeholders and businesses and communities will be needed to implement appropriate actions proposed in this plan, and to ensure Aberdeen is ready to maximise the immediate opportunities in the next three years and beyond."
Councillors will be asked to note the plan's action point and sign-off the £500,000 next week.
You can read the full suite of proposals here.