GRANTS OF up to £35,000 will be made available to landlords and tenants seeking to open businesses on Union Street, Morning Bulletin can reveal.
Details of Aberdeen City Council’s empty shops grant scheme have been published ahead of a meeting on Wednesday, where the plans are expected to be rubber-stamped.
A total of £500,000 has been set aside over the next two years to support the “reconfiguration” of units to make them fit for reoccupation.
The report going before councillors confirms that the local authority will grant fund half of projects up to a value of £70,000.
Who can apply?
Applications will be accepted from property owners of vacant units where they have a new tenant secured on a favourable lease.
New tenants may apply directly, with the permission of the property owner.
Grant awards from the scheme will offer up to 50% of project’s eligible costs, capped at £35,000.
The scheme is limited to ground floor units, and eligible costs include capital investment related to internal reconfiguration only, such as room partitioning, installation of kitchen and toilet facilities and the upgrade of utilities.
Who can’t access the scheme?
The paper also confirms some of the detail around the scheme, including a list of business which will not be able to access it, including large national chains such as Tesco, Boots and Starbucks.
Betting shops, sex shops, pawn brokers, tanning salons, tobacconists and vape shops will also be denied access to the scheme, suggesting a desire to bring different types of occupiers to the street.
You can read the full paper here. It will be discussed by the council’s finance and resources committee on Wednesday.
Speaking at the weekend, Bob Keiller, leader of the community-led Our Union Street group, said it was working with the council, landlords and property agents with the aim of creating the best set of incentives anywhere in Britain.
He said: “We have had a number of meetings over the past week covering some of the biggest issues that the public have flagged to us. In particular, we have been looking in more depth at business rates and the incentives that occupiers need to take on vacant units on Union Street, some of which have been empty for several years.
“We are working in collaboration with the council, landlords and property agents with the aim of putting together one of the most generous packages of incentives available anywhere in the UK, with the aim of making Aberdeen one of the most attractive, and affordable, high streets in the country to set-up or expand a business.
“Ultimately, this will involve compromise from all parties, but I believe the shared burden will yield rewards for all.”
