Great Western Arcade traders deserve help in difficult times
There is nothing very unusual about shopkeepers complaining that their rents are far too high. Such has been the lot of the small trader over the centuries.
But a simple stroll through Birmingham’s Great Western Arcade, where getting on for half of the units have been closed for many months, suggests that on this occasion the remaining tenants are not crying wolf.
It is undeniable that Birmingham’s shopping experience has improved dramatically in the past five years, due chiefly to the new Bullring and successful city centre pedestrianisation schemes. What this city continues to lack, however, is a range of good-value independent retailers.
Great Western Arcade ought to be an ideal location for the smaller, quirky shops, and its position, close to House of Fraser and Colmore Row, suggests that shopkeepers should have little problem in attracting custom.
With 11 of the 17 empty units having been vacant for between two and eight years, the owners of Great Western Arcade must recognise that they have a big problem on their hands. Put simply: the footfall through the arcade is high, which is the argument for higher rents, but traders discover to their cost that passers-by are not stopping to browse or spend money in the small shops.
Market forces will always prevail, and the recession has most certainly had some impact, but shops in the arcade were closing on a regular basis even in the good times.
It may be anathema to the owners, Aviva Investors, but the time has come to introduce financial incentives to attract new traders and ensure that existing shops survive.
