Politicians want to tackle empty island shops

The governments in Jersey and Guernsey want to understand why some shops remain empty

Politicians in the Channel Islands want to understand why some shops in the islands are left empty for long periods of time.

They want to investigate what causes shops to remain empty for years at a time in areas such as Mill Street in Guernsey and Les Quennevais precinct in Jersey.

Some small business owners cited a lack of flexibility from landlords as one of major issues they faced.

"Why have a shop... if you're not going to rent it out and support the economy?" said Guernsey artist Tiffany Matthews.

Tiffany Matthews has been unable to find a shop to rent as a pop-up gallery

She currently works out of a warehouse, but is keen to host a pop-up in one of the empty shop fronts in St Peter Port.

Ms Matthews said landlords refused to accommodate her as they wanted a lease that was nine or 10 years long.

She said she believed landlords would be better off with a short-term lease than no-one in there at all.

Ms Matthews said: "Some of these places have been empty for two-plus years and I think there should be a limit or cap on how long a property can be empty."

Deputy Helen Miles wants the government to incentivise landlords to rent out their spaces

Jersey Deputy Helen Miles said she thought "it can't be right for shops to be left empty for years at a time" and she wanted to incentivise landlords to rent out their spaces.

She said: "I think there's a very big opportunity for proper investment and if we can get the government to actually work in partnership with the private landlords.

"We have an opportunity - particularly at the Quennevais precinct and parade - to make that area much more vibrant than it is now.

"But small businesses in particular need a little bit of support to do that. I think there is a big opportunity particularly for the precinct to have kind of smaller more artisan shops."

Miles has called on Minister for Sustainable Development Kirsten Morel to launch a review into empty shop fronts.

She said: "I think the important thing to say is this isn't about taxing landlords, it's not about interfering in private interests.

"I'm asking him to think about minimum standards. I'm asking him to to clarify what landlords' responsibilities are and what tenants' responsibilities are."

'Focused on retail'

Morel said he had a "positive attitude" towards Miles' proposition and would work with her to see if it could work or needed amending.

He said Jersey had a "vibrant" high street with good occupancy rates and government money was being put into the sector.

Morel added his department was keen to help retailers and shop landlords as much as they could.

"My team are really focused on retail," he said.

"We ourselves have reached out to retailers and brought retailers to Jersey to look at the opportunities here."

Deputy Lee Van Katwyk wants to understand any problems facing landlords in Guernsey

Deputy Lee Van Katwyk, who is a member of Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development, said they would be conducting a review to understand why some shops are left empty.

"The retail sector is very important for Guernsey - it employs over 10% of our population.

"There's so many different mechanisms that could be used by government, but it's important that at the same time when we're trying to get these shops filled up, that we're also supporting the local business owners who might be struggling for reasons that we don't yet understand."

Business owners in Guernsey have noted an increase in French tourists to the island this year.

Van Katwyk said: "Town has had a 1.4% increase in footfall over the last year to date, so we are very keen to capitalise on that success and keep the ball rolling for the whole island."