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Regeneration and development

High street rental auctions

North Somerset Council has secured new powers to tackle empty shops and bring businesses back to town centres. This is part of the High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA) scheme. UK government launched this in December 2024. 

We will now be able to auction off leases for commercial properties that have been empty for a long time. We will work proactively with landlords to bring buildings back to life. We aim to reduce the number of vacant premises in town centres across the area. 

Under the rules of the scheme, properties vacant for more than a year could be subject to a HSRA. This is only if the landlord has not taken sufficient steps to let their premises.

Please note we will only consider this in exceptional circumstances. For example, where:

  • there are longterm, avoidable issues with vacant properties and;
  • where our efforts to engage with landlords have been unsuccessful. 

Criteria

The council needs to set-up designated HSRA zones. 

To be considered for a HSRA, a property must be: 

  • located within a designated HSRA zone, and 
  • unoccupied continuously for a year, or at least 366 days (non-continuously) within a 24-month period. 

Portishead town centre is not currently being considered for the scheme. 

This is because our research, which included a review of property vacancy rates, indicates the town would not benefit at this time.

We may consider adding additional areas to the scheme at a later date.

Engagement

We will soon invite local communities and stakeholders to have their say on proposed areas where the powers can be applied. This includes the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea and Weston-super-Mare. 

An engagement exercise is due to launch in spring 2025. We will update this webpage with more information at that time. 

For more information about the GOV.UK website -  press release about the HSRA scheme.