Comment: Help small shops - News - Evening Standard
       

Comment: Help small shops

When town centres are given new shopping malls, the inexorable result of the face-lift is that the price of renting shop space goes up. And, according to the Federation of Small Businesses, the victims are small independent shops, who, unlike the big chains cannot afford those rates. The Mayor has now introduced a revised version of the London Plan and one proposal is that developers of major new retail schemes will be obliged to provide a proportion of space at cut-price rents for independent retailers. It follows this paper's long-running campaign to save our small shops.

The proposal would be a useful step towards righting the balance of power away from the huge chain stores. One of the biggest problems for independent shopkeepers is that commercial rents are so enormous, especially in the busiest high streets and shopping centres. But, looking at the number of small shop premises standing vacant throughout London, measures like these cannot be implemented too soon.

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