Fears over Northallerton high rents and rates leading to empty shops

Currently advertised rents on shops to let in the High Street range from £65,000 per annum on a former bank to £18,000 for a smaller unit.

Businesswoman Heather Dixon from Sew New, who makes blinds and curtains as well as doing clothing alterations, said she had to take a first floor unit after five years of searching because it would have cost too much to have it directly on the High Street.

She added: “The constraints we had were the cost of both rent and rates on the High Street, but on top of that, was the state of the properties. From leaking roofs, damp coming in through the walls to rats. None of which work for most retailers, let alone a fabric shop.

“We finally found this lovely space which had been renovated from top to bottom. With a lot of leases where it is a ‘repairing lease’, the tenant is responsible for the upkeep and in hard times, the tenant cannot afford to do this. One of the reasons why lots of property is vacant, who would want to repair someone else's property?

Heather Dixon outside the entrance to her Sew New shop which she has opened upstairs

“However, not all landlords are created equal. My current landlord has taken care of the property and so it's ideal for us. We would have chosen a ground floor property, like we used to have but between the increased rent and the rates, it would have cost six times more making it hard for smaller businesses to get started, let alone make the profit needed to keep going.

“And the higher the rent, the higher the rates, so it's a double whammy. We wanted to be able to offer our loyal customers the same service without struggling to pay the bills, so we went upstairs.”

Former High Street shop director Bettina Howard said: “It’s a very sad situation, I know businesses that have had to come out due to rent and rates increasing massively, they tried to negotiate with landlords and the council but they weren’t interested. Something needs to be done as it’s tricky for any start up business.”

Northallerton Town Council said it is working with the Business Investment District LoveNorthallerton and Hambleton District Council, as well as the Tourist Information Centre to help.

A spokesperson said: “We are working with the aim of improving the experience of visiting the High Street thus helping to make the commercial units on the High Street attractive to both existing and new businesses.

“Northallerton Town Council has recently let the shop unit at the corner of the Town Hall to a local independent business and has plans to bring the two vacant units on the north side of the building back into use soon.

“While it is always disappointing to see empty shop units, visits to the High Street have already returned to pre-Covid levels, the appearance of the High Street continues to improve and a number of initiatives are being progressed to further attract people into the town.”