LB First: Pivotal moment for the town centre
Monthly column by LB First chairman Gennaro Borrelli. It was no real surprise to hear that the last bank in our town has announced the closure of its branch later this year, the writing was on the wall.
There has been a big drop in footfall in the town centre since the banks have closed, I know there have been other factors too such as continual increases in parking charges, changes to car parks, online shopping and out of town retail parks, but the bank closures have been a big blow.
The good news is that we are going to get a banking hub, venue in town and date of opening to be confirmed, but when it does open it will be shared by the main banks and allow people to deposit money, make cash withdrawals, pay in cheques, pay bills etc. This will help people, particularly those who don't have smart phones or do online banking, allowing people access to their money, especially those who find it easier to budget with the cost of living as well as helping local businesses to be able to make their deposits easier.
There is certainly no shortage of empty buildings for them to choose from, which is why I was pleased to hear Central Beds Council have designated key areas where new powers could be used to tackle empty shops. Many local residents will know of a number of commercial properties in the town centre that have been vacant for 2 years or more and now if the absent landlords refuse to meaningfully engage then CBC can begin the process of High Street Rental Auctions in order to bring the properties back into use by allowing businesses, community groups or charities to use a building at a fair market price, dependent on condition, location and size of the property.
Perhaps Central Beds could follow that up with some meaningful engagement of their own with M & S, given their recent interest in expanding their business in our town. With £500k set aside for the demolition of Westlands and the old Day Centre you would think that now would be the best time to clear the land and show M & S the potential of redeveloping the land with them in mind rather than continuing to pay thousands of pounds per week for security, given that they had refused to allow the buildings to be used by local community groups, even on a short term basis.
With shop vacancy rates at around 10 per cent we need things to start happening, and quickly!
For more information contact Gennaro on 01525 854273 and LB First Facebook page.