One main street in Reading town centre appears to have more empty street units than any other.
The Reading Chronicle has documented the empty units on popular shopping roads in the city.
Our investigation found that from the Broad Street entrance to the Oracle until the junction at the Broad Street Mall there is ten empty shop units.
The empty shop units include sites previously occupied by ‘Hotter’, Accessorize and many more other brands.
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Some appear to be under construction, others still have evidence of recent vacation and there is even one with an eviction notice on the window.
Broad Street currently has stores such a John Lewis, Primark and Marks and Spencer making it one of the most expensive streets in the town centre for renting.
With the cost of living increasing and the loss of funding the shops received during the pandemic.
Robert Hayton, UK president of real estate adviser Altus Group, said: “The government and devolved administrations are acting as if there hadn’t been a pandemic and seem oblivious to the cost of doing business crisis.
“The tapering off of business rates relief takes away vital breathing space for high street businesses.”
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