New way of thinking needed for Inverness city centre with call for alternative uses including housing to be found for empty business properties with more than 100 currently standing vacant
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Calls have been made to change the way the growing number of empty commercial properties in Inverness are used.
More than 100 commercial sites in the city are currently available for rent and, with coronavirus restrictions soon to be eased, it is uncertain how many businesses that closed due to the pandemic will reopen.
The city has already seen its share of high profile national casualties with branches of Debenhams, Thornton’s and Top Shop all closing in the last few months.
Independent traders have also been struggling.
While lockdown is due to start easing in the retail sector from next week, Inverness-based economist Tony Mackay has suggested it is time to start exploring alternative uses for vacant sites, such as converting more premises into affordable accommodation.
He said: “That would result in more people living in the city centre and spending money there. There is a big shortage of affordable housing in the area.
“I would expect some of the property owners to want financial assistance to convert their premises, so I hope that the relevant public bodies will agree to help.”
Most of the currently vacant city sites are retail or office premises and Mr Mackay said: “I am pessimistic about the prospects for the retail sector in Inverness city centre, particularly in the Eastgate Centre.
“Many of the shops in the city centre are currently closed temporarily because of the coronavirus restrictions, but I fear that some will not reopen.”
On the office front he added: “There has been a big shift to working from home, particularly by the large public sector employers such as Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
“That has resulted in many fewer people working in the city and spending less money in the shops and other retail establishments. I expect working from home to continue to be important after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.”
Inverness BID manager Mike Smith, said out of 115 city sites featured on commercial property listings service Realla, 31 were within the business improvement district’s boundaries.
He pointed to work to combine retail and residential use in developments on the former Farmfoods site in Academy Street and the just-started transformation of the former Arnott’s building in Union Street as evidence that new ways of thinking were already being applied.
He said: “There are some positives there and we need to encourage and give people every reason to come into the city centre and give them good service.
“We also need to be open-minded about whether there are alternative uses that some of the properties which are empty should be better put to.”
Mr Smith said that in the past Inverness had always been around or below the national average for empty sites and added: “It’s obviously been tough for everybody in all sectors, be they offices, retail, hospitality or allied services.
“I think people are realistic and a number of businesses have already said that they are not going to reopen, but we are hopeful that most of the others will do so.
“Various people have been opening up small businesses – we need to put our minds to how we can encourage them and how we can find them facilities to take advantage of new opportunities.”
David Richardson, the Federation of Small Businesses’ Highlands and Islands development manager, said: “There will always be empty units on high streets as businesses come and go, but a healthy high street should never have too many, and the amount of time units lie empty should be minimal.
“What we are seeing now is very worrying, for what has been the slow wilting over many years of high streets under pressure from out-of-town retail parks and online shopping, has accelerated dramatically during the pandemic.”
He said much more could be done to retain existing small businesses and encourage more independent start ups.
“Existing buildings and brownfield sites should also be developed and there should be an immediate moratorium on new out-of-town developments,” he said.
“Landlords, transport needs and green spaces also require urgent attention, and long-term empty properties should be bought up and developed as business incubator units, community spaces or homes. Anything is better than leaving them empty.”
