A FORMER Worcester mayor says councils don’t have enough power to bring empty buildings back to life.
David Clark, who was a city councillor for more than 20 years, said parts of the city centre are in a “sad and sorry state” because pubs, shops and other buildings have been left empty for years.
“The council has no teeth, no power to do anything about it,” he said.
EMPTY: The old Argos store in The Shambles, which has been closed for years (Image: Phil Wilkinson-Jones/LDRS)
“Developers, owners and speculators own these properties and hold on to them in order to get a better price, which may not ever happen, and the buildings are left empty for years.
“It’s not just this council, it’s a national issue and it’s time something was done about it.”
Mr Clark, a Conservative councillor for Bedwardine and mayor of the council from 2001 to 2002, retired from politics in 2011.
ABANDONED: Ex-mayor David Clark looks through the windows of the old Cricketers Arms pub in Angel Street (Image: Phil Wilkinson-Jones/LDRS)
He pointed to the old Coop supermarket and former Cricketers Arms in Angel Street, and the old Argos store in The Shambles, as examples of prominent buildings that have been closed for years.
All three are the subject of planning applications but are currently run down and covered in graffiti.
“It’s a sad and sorry state, it really is,” said Mr Clark, who said the presence of empty buildings makes trading harder for surrounding businesses.
“You depend on footfall – it’s the core of any retail shop,” he said. “No footfall – no trade.
“There are five shops empty along the front of Crowngate – it makes the whole place look dead. It’s sad to see in a city square.”
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Mr Clark, who owned shops in Reindeer Court and Sidbury for more than a decade, said more creative uses could be found for empty shop fronts, such as allowing other businesses to display their goods in unused shop windows.
He is backing a Worcester News campaign to clean up, repair and restore civic pride in the city centre, which has become blighted by graffiti, abandoned buildings and litter.
Worcester City Council has said less than 10 percent of retail units in the city centre are empty – below the average retail vacancy rate in the UK.
“In recent years the City Council has been successful in securing Government funding to make significant investment in the city which has brought underused buildings back into use,” it said.
Ongoing work by the council includes bringing the listed Scala and Corn Exchange buildings in Angel Street back to life, while a separate scheme to turn the old Debenhams store into a hotel has also been approved.
