Recommendation 126

As major retailers have exited high streets and town centres, some local authorities have chosen to purchase their local shopping centres seeking to ensure continued vitality for centres. For example, Spelthorne Borough Council took back the long lease on the Elmsleigh shopping centre in Staines-upon-Thames and successfully created a social hub for the community. 258 In Stockton-on-Tees the council acquired the Castlegate Shopping Centre in order to replace it with a park. 259 Similarly, in Barnsley, the local authority oversaw the successful development of a central shopping centre (see Box 6). Local authorities can also use their compulsory purchase powers to acquire empty properties on the high street, but Mr Moynihan noted that opaque property ownership (as described above) could make this challenging. 260