Urgent plea over York city centre's 49 empty shops and restaurants

Imogen Natley, co-owner of Goji cafe in Goodramgate, said the council needs to do more to support small businesses to keep companies “alive”.

The Press has counted 49 empty shops and restaurants in the city centre alone and retail bosses have said that, although some streets have seen a revival, there is more to be done to attract retailers to the city centre.

Ms Nateley said: “In my view there’s not enough done for the smaller shops, to keep them going and keep them alive, so they don’t become charity shops or become empty.

“The council should regenerate street by street. Look at Fossgate, that’s really been regenerated, look at Bishopthorpe, Micklegate. There are so many things that can be done, but it needs money and people can’t pay the rates, that’s why a couple of shops have moved out here. The rents are too high, they can’t afford to stay.”

Steve Morrison, who used to run Red Cow Music on Goodramgate which has now become an online business, said he was surprised by the number of vacant units.

He said: “That’s a lot more vacant units than I thought it would be. I think for a city like York it would be a very bad state of affairs if things got worse. We are a tourist city and you would have less to go to the city for.

“Malton is like a new town - I have seen it get better and better and I bet there’s no more than five shops empty. The parking is cheap and the shops are decent. They seem to have got it a bit better than York.”

But Andrew Lowson, executive director of York BID, said the city has fewer vacant shops compared to other comparable cities. Figures from the end of 2017 reveal the vacancy rate in York was 8.1 per cent, compared to the national rate of 11.1 per cent.

Mr Lowson said: “The number of empty units is something we always want to do better with. But we are performing better than the national average for vacancy rates.

“There are a lot of groups working together - including York BID and trading associations - other cities don’t necessarily have that same amount of activity going on. You have to work collectively to make areas of the city as vibrant as possible.

“If you look at our independent areas they are performing quite well. On Coney Street we would like to see some more units occupied.”

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Phil Pinder, chairman of York Retail Forum and owner of Cuffs & Co in Shambles, said he believes more and more of the empty units will be occupied by the end of the year as the organisation works to attract businesses to the city.

He said: “There is lots that can be done and landlords need to take a more proactive view. If it’s a listed building and empty, they don’t have to pay business rates, so there’s no incentive to rent it out.

“But we have a diverse profile of unique visitors and I think there’s a lot that would do well in York. We have identified a number of retailers we are looking to attract.

“I’m not really surprised by the number of vacant units because we have quite a lot of shops in York and there is always movement.

“Compared to the national average we have one of the lowest vacancy rates. It’s unusual for us York folk, we are not used to seeing that many empty shops. But I think by the end of the year a lot of them will have some movement.”

He pointed to success stories, such as Fossgate and Micklegate, where he said footfall has increased by 30 per cent and there have been a number of new businesses moving in.

But he said business rates “disproportionately” affect small companies because large organisations can negotiate rates nationally. He added that the issue around business rates “needs fixing”.

Neil Ferris, director of economy and place at City of York Council, said: “York has a highly attractive city centre retail offer and one of the highest retail occupancy rates in the north of England, which includes exceptional quality independent and top brand shops.

“It is always disappointing to see empty shops which unfortunately reflects the national shift in retail habits. We’ve been delighted to welcome a number of well-known brands to our high street over the past year including Crew, Origins, Sweaty Betty, Sea Salt, Jessops and Primark, and we will continue to collaborate with partners to attract further new investment in the city.

“In addition to our work with Make It York, York BID and York Retail Forum to promote the city as a fantastic retail spot, we’ve held back business rate increases for small businesses in York with a rateable value below £200,000 in 2017/18.

“We’re backing ongoing work to boost footfall, including initiatives such as York BID’s window dressing programme on vacant shopfronts, the Indie York movement, new traders’ associations including the Fossgate association, and we have extended car parking hours at Piccadilly and our Park and Ride over the summer.”