This is how many empty shops there aren in Reading (and what’s being done about it)

Walk through Reading town centre on any given day and you can guarantee it will be busy.

But you can also guarantee you'll walk past several empty and vacant shops that have been boarded up after their businesses have gone bust or moved elsewhere.

In a special report, the Chronicle has been investigating the plight of the high street and has good news - the overall picture in Reading is positive in comparison to other towns.

But there are still a substantial amount of empty shops left by closed units.

The Chronicle counted 12 vacant shops in the town centre during a visit last month with a further six empty shops in Broad Street Mall.

On the ground floor, there is a long vacant unit next to Greggs, and others to the rear of the mall.

Upstairs, there is a significant gap left by Wilko, which closed in October last year.

Meanwhile, there are eight available units inside The Oracle shopping centre, with the home coffee machine sellers Nespresso being the most recent closure.

Despite the substantial number of closed stores counted, there are promising signs of recovery.

The former EE that has been closed since about 2017 was taken over in January by Smart Tech phone and vape shop.

And the units vacated by Xpressions Hair and Beauty and Cash Converters are due to these businesses relocating within the town centre.

Xpressions Hair and Beauty now occupies Jacksons Corner, and Cash Converters is now based in Cross Street.

The Village, previously known as Kings Walk is nearly full, with two units spotted upstairs - one of which being left vacant due to the closure of the Dolce Vita Italian restaurant in June 2018.

Stores in the town centre are assisted by the Reading Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) covering Broad Street and the Abbey Quarter.

Businesses with a rateable value of over £10,000 pay a mandatory 1.4 per cent levy on their business rates to the BIDs.

Explaining the reason for the gaps, a spokesperson for Reading BID said: "In general, there is a strong turnover of retail units in Reading town centre.

"Many closures are the result of a national chain failing rather than the local branch performance and many of those spaces get quickly taken up as has been identified.

"The BID has no influence over market conditions and rental decisions of individual landlords but we work hard to make Reading an attractive place to work, live and visit through initiatives such as the summer floral displays (coming soon) and town centre events such as the recent Reading Food Festival."

Businesses are allowed to vote for the BIDs to continue or close down periodically.

In a vote this year, 88 per cent of businesses by number and 93% of businesses by rateable value voted in favour of the renewal of the Central BID in Jan/Feb earlier this year.

There has been some public concern about the lack of variety of shops, with a perceived large number of mobile repair and vape shops opening such as Smart Tech and many of the businesses in Union Street aka Smelly Alley.

Tony Page, a retired councillor of 51 years and a former Mayor, when confronted with shopper complaints about the proliferation of vape and phone repair shops said: “It’s not unique for Reading is it? It’s happening in every town or city.

“Again the fact that planning laws have been loosened by messers Pickles and Gove allows that to happen.

“There is no shortage of independent businesses in Reading, we have probably a higher proportion of state-ups, than most other towns or cities in the country.

“But clearly the rent in the centre are not cheap, there are some landlords who prefer to keep their places empty, rather than allow lets.

“Most of those vape places are on very short term leases, the bigger problem is controlling vapes, and the fact is that the government is so slow and behind the curve in dealing with that problem.

“In planning terms, it is the impact of covid, plus the fact that rents are still too high in the town centre."

Mr Page suggested that the council should have a policy that requires developers in the town centre to offer a proportion of the space to start-up businesses and new independent traders.

Mr Page said: “We’ve seen since the pandemic a number of very welcome new developments, the markets operated by Blue Collar and others show that there are those independent traders who move around in the Berkshire area – not all of them want permanent places – there is certainly that appetite literally and metaphorically for that sort of development.”

He hopes the Local Plan partial update will give the council powers to put some controls over what businesses can occupy units provided in new developments.

On its part, a spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said: "Reading town centre is proving to be resilient in the face of nationwide economic challenges and has been quick to adapt to the changing demands and expectations of shoppers and visitors. There remains a high level of interest from prospective retailers and hospitality chains looking for suitable space in the town and investors continue to have confidence in Reading.

"The Council does not have any power to prevent shop owners from closing premises they consider unviable or new businesses opening new stores, apart from those requiring licences.

"Recognising that trips to the town centre are as much a leisure activity as purely retail, the Reading BIDs, which support businesses in the town, attract visitors by staging events and helping to keep the town looking welcoming.

"The council also brings in crowds to the town centre by holding major free events such as Water Fest and Forbury Fiesta.

"These continue to be difficult times for retailers and businesses across the country but Reading remains a thriving and lively town centre, with an excellent selection of retailers and leisure outlets which serve the local community and millions of visitors from miles around."