The little UK seaside town where locals are desperately trying to save their high street | UK | News
The street of a small but well -known town is fighting. Recent reports, Ramsgate, the Kent High Street in a crisis, he said. Fresh Data claims that a surprising 65 store units in Ramsgate High Street – almost one -fifth – empty. This is significantly higher than the national average. According to local deputy Polly Billington and a local regeneration group, the retail rate of the town is approximately 24% – the highest and over 14% of the national average.
The figures vary depending on the sources, the Tanet Regional Council claims that the town’s gap rate is 12.5% - but it acknowledges that it remains “still higher than it wants.” Surprisingly, more than half of the shops are claimed to be ‘for sale’ or rent. According to the community regeneration group and CIC Ramsgate Space, 60% of these empty units are reported to be locked and abandoned by landlords and large investment portfolios due to their property.
Founded by Ramsgate native Louise Brooks and Georgina Street, Ramsgate Space is a community that is dedicated to the town’s rising shop gap crisis. Louise actually watches empty shops and finds businesses to fill them.
While talking Channel 4 NewsLouise, “empty shops are important because they refer to many different components of local life. They affect how people feel about the place.
“You see empty shops and affect how people feel.
Ramsgate Space is currently invading the facilities with a temporary lease agreement in 17 Albert Court and the building of the Council has been provided by the Thanet Regional Council in the “Use” regulation by the Thanet Regional Council to support the project.
Since his control, Louise has only observed a dramatic transformation in this compact area. CCTV systems were established to combat the neighboring square and antisocial behavior. This development is further supported by the introduction of Staple Stores, a coffee shop that took over the tea rooms of Corby, which was the establishment of Ramsgate Space and this year, which was moved to York Street and closed in 2023.
Louise Brooks Express told: “Before the coffee shop moved, drug trafficking, drug use, violence, it was really bad here. Antisocial behavior has fallen since we opened our doors.”
Discussing how Ramsgate Space transformed the gloomy situation on the high street, Louise explained: “When we founded ourselves, we had a gap rate of about 18%, but this is now falling. We had three banks in a year. Then Wilko, Argos, New View and Wsmith.
“We were really dependent on big multinational companies, and they all disappeared at the same time. ‘Everything was garbage’. We had to change the narrative.
Explaining the role of Ramsgate Space in the high Street crisis, Louise shared: ık We started to provide business support to businesses who want to go in and take part. Although they realize these areas in a realistic way. They understand the difficulty they receive. ”
Alex Gillings of Salt House barbers and Lara Clift of Screaming Alley Cabaret are two business owners who are ready to challenge.
Alex moved to Ramsgate 4 years ago and set up the barber shop in the back room of a pub. Now, it’s ready for itself. He joined Laura, who was preparing to open a cabaret club in the same unit.
Alex Channel said to 4 News: ız We both need an area and in this economic climate – you need to think out of the box. I think we both have the same morals, so it sounded like a natural thing to work together.
“It sounds as we are at the beginning of something. How does it feel – we are at the beginning of something really good.”
He added: “Not only do we share everything as we have shared with rent, bills and now – we have shared the journey to negotiate with the landlords who look at places on a basis and charging what we think too much.
Ramsgate area, which entered the high street crisis more, found that there were 65 empty shops in the region. Not only that, about two -thirds was not actively marketed with an agent. So they weren’t just empty, no significant effort was made to find a job to get them.
Michelle Elliot, the founder of the differences, runs a stop in the equipment selling markets to support children with special needs. He hopes to be one of the businesses that can be involved in Hight Street, but he cannot meet it right now.
Michelle Channel told 4 News: “We looked at someone [vacant shop] It’s just a big unit there, but it can be accessible and that’s what we need. We need to enter people with wheeled chairs and such things. So it is a beautiful big area that has recently been emptied, but still sitting there empty there. The cost is too high for us. We can’t. “
On the other hand, the property groups argue that the great landlords are not interested in leaving the shops empty and pointed to government taxes.
British Real Estate Federation Retail Federation Chairman Morgan Garfield told Channel 4 News: “Work rates are taxed on property – they are taxed in the field, they are taxed for employment.
The Municipal Assembly is approaching major transformations of £ 20 million in government financing through the plan program for neighborhoods. This investment, which covers the next decade, represents an important chance to breathe a new life on the street of the town.
