Owl is noticing more and more empty shops – even in places that seemed to be weathering the High Street decline so far (eg Sidmouth).

Isn’t it time our council did an audit of our high streets (empty shops, open shops, temporary pop-up shops, local-owned independent, chain stores, charity shops) to get a proper idea of just how bad this problem is in each town and what the mix says about the health of each town centre? And time to come up with a strategy for their future?

“… Charges to withdraw money from cash machines would be scrapped under a Labour government to “save Britain’s high streets”.

Attempts to stop their “slow agonising death” were announced by shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey with a range of measures – including stopping Post Office closures.

Sky News can reveal Labour would draw up a register of landlords of empty shops in every local authority.

And the party would deliver free public wi-fi in town centres, for those having a coffee or working in community spaces.

The plans are due to be announced on Tuesday by Ms Bailey at Labour’s autumn conference in Liverpool.

She is aiming to boost support for the party in British towns, as leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested a general election could be called imminently.

Brexit secretary Dominic Raab insisted on Sunday that “it’s not going to happen”.

Research by Which? published in June found that the free-to-use ATM network was “under threat”.

The idea to ban them was championed by Labour MP Ged Killen, who welcomed the party’s announcement.

“No one should ever have to pay to access their own money,” he told Sky News.

“If any government is serious about economic development in our towns and high streets they need to protect the financial infrastructure people and business rely on.”

The other plans would see post offices owned by the government stopped from further franchising and closing.

Under-25s will also get free bus travel in local authorities where local bus services are either franchised or publicly owned.

Labour has also promised to “work with” councils to extend wi-fi roll-outs by commercial developers in public spaces.

And it will force shop landlords to make their identity and contact details public, creating an empty shop register to “make it easier to bring empty units into use”.

A new annual business rates re-evaluation will also be introduced. …”

https://news.sky.com/story/labour-would-scrap-atm-charges-in-bid-to-save-high-streets-11507872