IN order to slash the number of empty shops, the city council has unveiled ambitious plans on how it will spend its share of Mary Portas cash to revive Britain's town centres.
The Mary Portas High Street Innovation Fund was launched last year by the Government after a report by the TV retail guru.
More than £10 million is being handed out to try and revive shopping areas across the country.
Nottingham was awarded £100,000 out of the fund, while city council has bumped it up to £230,000, using £130,000 from its own budget.
The largest portion, £100,000 plus a £10,000 administration fee, is going on a pot of money for landlords to improve their vacant shop units.
They will be able to get up to £5,000 as long as they match what's spent by 50 per cent and prove the unit will be let after the work.
Ben Tebbutt, director at FHP property consultants, who let out a large number of shop and leisure units in the city centre, welcomed the idea of landlords having access to the money.
He said: "Any improvements will help the chances of letting a property. It's proactive and good for the city.
"Ultimately it will help landlords let shops and help the retailers get into those shops."
Local businessman Geoff Williams owns two shops in the city – the Tokenhouse gift shop in Bridlesmith Gate and the Framework gallery in Derby Road, which was identified as a area with high vacancy rates last year.
He's pleased the council is tackling the problem of vacant units, but isn't sure whether landlords should get so much of the fund.
He said: "If a landlord rips out a horrible shop front and puts in a new one then that's a good thing, but I think the landlord should be doing that anyway.
"I would like to see money go to a person who's moving into that property and paying the landlord rent."
He believes the key to creating a bustling city centre is finding new businesses with interesting ideas and a lot of drive to succeed.
Geoff said: "To start a business in this day in age you really need passion, an interesting idea and staying power in order to go a year or two without earning very much money.
"What's really needed financially is a little bit of help along the way with legislation and legal fees."
Nottingham was chosen to receive the High Street Innovation Fund money, along with 99 other cities and towns with high numbers of empty shops.
In November last year the Post reported that the number of empty shops in the city was 199. The latest figures from February show that it still stands at 199 – 30 shop units were let but 30 become vacant in the same time.
A survey by Experian in February this year found that the city centre had a ground-level vacancy rate of 18.1 per cent.
The council's own survey in the same month, which discounted Mansfield Road, Huntingdon Street, High Pavement and the area behind Carrington Street as being in the city centre, found it to be 17.8 per cent.
Last year the council pinpointed Heathcoat Street as a "hot spot" area of high vacancy rates and, along with Derby Road, it was one of the first areas they focused on.
A unit-by-unit approach was established to allow empty shops to be let by providing an action plan for each premises in the area.
Since February, council figures show that the number of vacant units in Heathcoat Street has gone from seven to three.
Councillor Nick McDonald, portfolio holder for jobs and growth, said: "In Hockley we are already seeing a difference and seeing interesting retail units and bars and restaurants in the area.
"If you look at somewhere like Flying Horse Walk it's fantastic there and it shows what you can do in a city. What we are trying to do on Derby Road is do what the owners have done in Flying Horse Walk."
However, Elaine Rubin of vegetarian restaurant Aubergine Cuisine, in Heathcoat Street, isn't sure there has been such an increase in let properties on the street.
She said: "At the top of Heathcoat Street there is a hive of activity but in Heathcoat Street itself I haven't seen a great deal of difference, if anything it has got worse.
"Immediately in front of us there's a shop that was let and is now vacant and at the bottom of the road there's a restaurant that's empty."
Another large chunk of the Mary Portas innovation fund money is going on a £30,000 business mentoring programme and a £30,000 Inspiring Retail competition, being launched next week, designed to help new businesses hoping to expand.
There is also a £16,000 "hot spots project fund" in order to address immediate issues such as building cleaning.
Corporate director of development at the city council, David Bishop, said: "We are doing our utmost to ensure that Nottingham remains a top shopping destination."
