Empty shops make up 14.5% of town centres

In this article from Property Weekly, property experts give their opinions of the changes faced by high streets and retailers across the country.

Matthew Hopkins, director of The Local Data Company, points to the problem that many smaller retail units in local shopping areas are 'not fit for the purpose of modern retailing'. Professor Barrry Gilbertson also recognises the desire of big brand retailers for larger retail units that can compete with the large stock holdings of their online competitors. This shift towards retail parks and shopping centres, and away from high streets, has left 'a lot of vacant shops which will never be replaced'.

Queen's Square, Brighton

A bright future awaits.

I admit I have never walked up the road between Dyke Road and Queen's Road that is apparently called Queen's Square and was the home of Brighton's ice rink for 30 years before its closure after an arson attack in 2003.

According to the Brighton and Hove News the site has been sold to hotel developers who are expected to make a planning application in six months time. Perhaps in the interim period, if it's safe to do so, they'd like to house the CAA in their new acquisition?

Perhaps... off for a peek tomorrow morning.

Locations and properties

I'm trying to work out what I want from a location, and what is feasible.

The main considerations I'm trying to work out are whether to look for somewhere slap bang in the centre of town, or further out, and whether we should aim big, or keep small.

Thoughts on each so far:

Central:
Potential for high footfall- shoppers and tourists. Easier to convince people to make the journey to come. Basically, lots of people. However perhaps harder to get them to stop and look around, pause and explore.

Further out:
(Such as London Road, Lewes Road, Portland Road) It would be nice to take something out of the centre, into a community. Also potentially cheaper. Less passing trade but maybe better potential to engage with the community.

Large:
A lot of space would obviously enable a wider range of activities, and the chance to have a number of things happening simultaneously. It would be great to be able to seat at least 30 people for talks or screenings, have a bar area, and workshop space. I would also love to be able to hand out space to other organisations to use.

Small:
Much easier to organise, cheaper, less to do! It would force us to use the space very carefully. Less people needed, though whether that's good or bad I don't know. Basically easier, but less exciting.

I suppose a lot will be decided by what properties are actually available. I need to make contact with some agents and landlords, which is a scary prospect. Any advice or contacts would be hugely appreciated. Please contribute your thoughts in the comments if you have any.

Join me (if you think you're hard enough)

Doing some quick research I came across this extremely helpful downloadable pack which details all the ins and outs of setting up and executing a project within an unused retail space, written by the Empty Shops Network:

Empty Shops Toolkit 2010

Take a look if you want to get an idea of the scale of the project. It's going to involve a lot of hard work and I'm looking to collaborate with people who are willing to seriously dedicate themselves. Obviously this isn't going to earn us any money so contributions can be very part-time (I intend to carry on working full-time throughout the organisation process), but hopefully with a team of concentrated and talented people working on it when we can the CAA is an achievable goal.

As the project develops roles will change and new ones will emerge. At the moment the focus has to be primarily on research, planning, funding and more research.

Please get in touch if you want to be involved in this stage of the CAA, especially detailing particularly areas you think you could perform well in or would like to gain experience of. No need for C.V.s but I'd love to know why you're interested in the project, your own ambitions and where you think you could fit in to the CAA. Email: thecommonacademy@gmail.com.

Then the ball shall roll.

Introduction

Welcome to The Common Academy of Art blog.

I'm glad you're here because I've got something exciting to tell you about. There's going to be a mini art academy opening in Brighton for just one week sometime in 2011, and you won't have to pay any tuition fees to attend! In fact, the whole thing will be completely free.

However, at the moment this micro-institution of creative abundance, or Common Academy of Art (as I am currently calling it) is just a collection of frantic ideas and excitement collected in the head of a young Brighton citizen. This blog is where I will try, with the help of willing contributors, to whip these ideas into a frenzy of proactive organisation with the eventual result of the CAA coming into resplendent being.

Some essential elements, themes and criteria of the project as I envision it are:
- Free to access for all.
- Learning through creativity and creativity through learning for volunteers and visitors.
- Community engagement.
- Not for profit.
- Sustainable and ethical at every stage.

Key areas of work:
- Funding and finance.
- Premises.
- Volunteers.
- Programme co-ordination.
- Promotions and marketing.
- Having a lovely time.

If this seems like the kind of project you or anyone you know would like to be involved in, in the biggest or smallest of ways, please keep an eye on this blog for updates and leave a comment with any thoughts, contact details or praise.
If you have any particular skills that could be of use, or you would like to gain experience of a particular area, please get in touch, I'd love to hear from you. Let's do this!