Consultation on high street futures has ended [WCC]

CITY council chiefs are preparing to start using new powers to seize control of empty shops in a bid to breathe life back into dying high streets.

Westminster’s cabinet is set to agree to trial the High Street Rental Auction compulsory purchase powers in North Paddington and Bayswater.

The legislation, brought in 2024, gives local authorities power to require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial properties that have been empty for at least a year.

Failure to do so after negotiations with the council can result in a notice being served on the landlord before auctioning off the lease to a community-focused highest bidder for at least five years.

Betting shops, candy stores, pawn brokers, souvenir shops, vape shops, and fast food outlets are to be banned from bidding at the auctions. A report to next Tuesday’s cabinet meeting said: “The HSRA is expected to have a positive impact on people living in Westminster’s most deprived wards, as the power will be used in the areas of North Paddington and, subject to consultation and further decision-making, in Paddington and Bayswater.”

The cabinet report said the main risks will be landlords bringing in “unsuitable occupiers prior to the notice being served” and that funding will not be available to meet the costs of the scheme, including any significant investment required to bring the unit up to scratch,

A consultation has already been run and this “was widely promoted through social media”, the report said.