I live in Walkley and we have lots of borded up/empty shops on South rd. I know many areas are the same. I understand that the reason why this is the case is because of high rents charged by landlords.

I cannot understand why a landlord would insist on high rent or overwise have the shop empty.

it makes no sense and Walkley would be a much nicer place with all the shops used.

Originally posted by robbie
I live in Walkley and we have lots of borded up/empty shops on South rd. I know many areas are the same. I understand that the reason why this is the case is because of high rents charged by landlords.

I cannot understand why a landlord would insist on high rent or overwise have the shop empty.

it makes no sense and Walkley would be a much nicer place with all the shops used.


From my own experience, I find that the rentals can be flexible.
BUT... never the commercial rates. The council won't budge a penny on those.

I once enquired for a property in the city centre, rents were flexible,landlord was willing to give 5 months free rent period.

The rates were MORE than the rent....

was just observing today how many boarded up, closed down premises there are in walkley. a handfull of them have been recent closures. i like living in walkley, when i moved here i didn't think there was much on offer in terms of shops but it was sufficient to fulfill imediate needs. it is however, beginning to look a bit drab. hopefully these premises will be filled with exciting new businesses (i won't hold my breath though). it would be nice if the area was to specialise in something and become known for quality goods. we already have two great restaraunts (especially vito's) it would be great to have some more appealling maybe crafty type shops to give the area a little bit of life.

its such a shame to hear this. i worked on south road about 7 years ago and it was a lovely community and not an empty shop to be seen.

i have heard in the news of a few robberies, was it the post office and the halifax? that could have had a knock on effect i don't know?:confused: i was so surprised as it is such a lovely area from what i remember and we did consider buying a house there at one point however the house prices are also so high.

it is unfortunate to be hit by crime, i'd probably be quite shocked if i saw the area now if its like these posts describe.

whats on south road now then shops wise?

:)

Originally posted by kblade
whats on south road now then shops wise?
See mdfs.net/User/JGH/Docs/SouthRoad. I'll upload a list I made on Tuesday when I get back home.

Originally posted by pinlock
From my own experience, I find that the rentals can be flexible.
BUT... never the commercial rates. The council won't budge a penny on those.



I thought the business rate was now fixed by central govt rather than the local council ??

what a shame about South Road shops, years ago it was great to walk past those quaint little shops, 4/5 butchers shops just a couple of doors away from each other, South Rd was crowded with shoppers with big bags and prams, the prams were so big people just left them outside the shop while they shopped around, no one ever bothered the babies.

Does the Sheffield councilown all that property ?

Originally posted by poppins
Does the Sheffield councilown all that property ?
The council owns none of the property on South Road, except the Library.

And the run down never open public toilets next door to the Library.

Originally posted by Rich
And the run down never open public toilets next door to the Library.
Correct - technically part of the Library.

I closed my own newsagents down last year-nothing to do with any rent, as I own the property. Shopping habits have changed with the times, supermarkets have seen to that. One supermarket replaces dozens of small shops. Its the end of an era, the corner shops are closing all over the country.
I think we will be sadly missed. [ my shop had traded since 1928]

Take the Appolo building for example. Whilst Appol was cak it is a decent building for a Blockbuster or Choices to move in. Both would make money imo. There seems to be no incouragement on behalf of the council to get new shops opening.

shame.

I would of said South Road has been declining for several years and suspect the opening of a certain big supermarket at Hillsborough didn't help in the least. However other shopping area's seem to be thriving and so it can't just be the supermarkets causing the problem. South Road is fairly narrow and exceedingly busy traffic wise which is a problem and a lot of the older shops are tiny so can't hold sufficient variety of stock to entice the punters in. If you go along langsett road there are some shops that are now flats or bedsits and suspect this may well be spreading across the city.
Shop rents though can be astronomical and I do think some landlords should lower their rents but then that would mean they were being sane and sensible rather than money grabbing sharks.

Originally posted by WallBuilder
Shop rents though can be astronomical and I do think some landlords should lower their rents but then that would mean they were being sane and sensible rather than money grabbing sharks.

Hey, careful. I am one of the South Road landlords. :) My rents are lower than any of the others that I have been able to find out. I do find it disappointing that there are so many empty shops with no indication of who to contact to try to rent them.

i agree, when we were looking for a shop we saw loads empty but with no contact details, we asked the shops close by if they knew some did and some didnt. we ended up going round just taking the numbers of estate agents that were on the outsides of shops instead as the otherway got really frustrating. it did pay off and now i love my shop :)

Litha

Basildon Council explain the Business Rate:

http://www.basildon.gov.uk/80256B68003E4A92/vWeb/wpAJPS5LMC82

It's not set by the Local Council, but is calculated by multiplying the rateable value of your property by the multiplier set by the Government.

Presumably, then, the properties on South Road are over valued as far as the people who want to run a shop are concerned.

I have a business on South Road - I hate to see all the empty shops but when I found out how much rent they wanted to charge £650 per month for a small unit which added to other overheads like rates it's almost a £1000 a month just to sit there before you start making any money - it's no surprise they are empty!!!

On further investigation (I asked aorund some friends who are landlords) I found that a landlord wants to make some flats so put the rents up on the rent review to clear out the tennants. This is quite a common practice but not good for the community or businesses.

In Chesterfield the Council owns loads of properties and rents are reasonable to at least give the business owner a chance. It's a shame Sheffield Council didn't regulate for commercial property so a fair system is operated.

Originally posted by jgharston
See mdfs.net/User/JGH/Docs/SouthRoad. I'll upload a list I made on Tuesday when I get back home.

Just to let you know your list is slightly out. my business (DS Print & Design) is actually at 286 South Road. 288 is currently being done up and will be a lebanese restaurant soon.

There have been some issues with people trying to put rates up too high along the road, and we have almost suffered ourselves recently. The problem is landlords base their rents on the value of the building (unsurprisingly) but this doesn't take into account local conditions. South Road is no longer a busy shopping area, passing trade is very limited, just a few local people who don't want to go down to the supermarkets. We survive as our type of business does not rely on passing trade, but more on referrals through word of mouth, yellow pages and the internet. This is why most shops on south road is now one that offers some sort of service rather than just a shop, or a food outlet. Levitts convenience store seems to do ok, and Netto is always busy, but there isn't much room for new shops to open. The baker, Chester Barkers, has just closed down in the last few weeks, and just to completely kill off the community around the area, the post office has now been closed (after a lengthy campaign to try to keep it open.)

There are a few problems with south road now though:

1. Unrealistic business rents and rates
2. No parking anywhere. There are about 5 proper parking places in walkley, everything else is at the side of the road
3. Unreliable buses - In my experience the 95 is the single most unreliable bus in sheffield. I have on a couple of occasions waited 40 minutes for a bus which is supposed to come more than every 10 minutes
4. Noone knows where walkley is. I normally have to tell people it's between hillsborough and crookes!

Also, i have heard the rumour too. Apparently the guy who owns all the shops opposite us is bumping up rents massively as he wants to convert them all into flats. I don't know if this is true but a few people have told me as much. There are currently three of the five shops occupied since the bargain shop closed about a year ago and apollo video closed. Whilst the bookies and opticians should be alright, i worry about the little greengrocers over there.

There are quite a lot of properties empty. With a little investment south road could be busy again. Despite some landlords getting greedy, most properties along this road are very reasonable, and probably about half what you'd pay in crookes. Something definitely needs to be done to brighten the whole area up though.

Incidentally, if you want to help a local business then our website is www.dspad.co.uk. Hope posting that doesn't break any rules! :)

Originally posted by Scarrott
Just to let you know your list is slightly out. my business (DS Print & Design) is actually at 286 South Road. 288 is currently being done up and will be a lebanese restaurant soon.
Yes, that was a typo in my notes. Corrected list as well as a list for March 2005 just uploaded.

D*m! It's 'DS'. I've listed you as 'D&S'. I'll just update that as well :)

A Lebanese restaurant. Sounds promising. Don't know how much custom it will get ion there though. Anyone know how well Indian Spice is doing. Seems busy at most times I walk past.


I don't mind some shops neing converted into flats as long as they smarten the area up a bit. There are way to many shops to be sustained on there.

I don't understand some ventures though. Wok this wWay is placed in the worst position. Between a very popular Chinese and Rising Sun around the corner. I see a short life span there.

etc was always doomed. The sheer amount of IT related boarded up shops tells its own tale.

It is an area where well run businesses that spot a niche in the market can prosper as has a busy student/graduate/young professional/older population.

I'm surprised at some of the rents mentioned - the old Hazy Days shop of Barbour Road, which I imagine gets more passing traffic than South Road as it's closer to town & studentville, was recently on offer for £160pcm rent.

Originally posted by DanSumption
the old Hazy Days shop of Barbour Road, ... was recently on offer for £160pcm rent.
I saw it empty yesterday and being painted today, so it looks like somebody's snapped it up.

--
Opposition is about asking questions. And Government is about not answering them.

Originally posted by jgharston
I saw it empty yesterday and being painted today, so it looks like somebody's snapped it up.

Yeah, they have. Shame, because at that price I was quite keen to give it a go.

Which proves what I said earlier that if rents were reasonable £150 to £250 a month the South Roads shops would be snapped up!

Originally posted by jgharston
I saw it empty yesterday and being painted today, so it looks like somebody's snapped it up.

Andy's Carpets next door have expanded into it.

--
One OS to fool them all, one OS to bind them, one OS to bring them all, and with the jargon blind them.

I grew up in Walkley and remember South Road from the 60's. It was a thriving shopping centre, butchers, bakers (remember Sauls Pikelet shop? Loved the smell in that place), grocers, fruit and veg, etc etc., and everybody knew everybody. You used to go to the shops for a chinwag as much as to buy stuff.

Eeee, them were t'days.