URL: https://rother.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=1958

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose:

Content: High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA), introduced in Part 10 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, gave local authorities the power to require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial properties through auctioned leases.  The aim was to reduce long term vacancies and help revitalise High Streets.   HSRA encouraged councils to work proactively with landlords and local businesses, while also providing an enforcement mechanism where engagement was unsuccessful. The Act set out the framework, supported by the Local Authorities (Rental Auctions) (England) and Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.   The report summarised the background, benefits, and initial steps for assessing whether HSRA should be implemented in Bexhill Town Centre (BTC) as a pilot for the wider district due to strategic alignment with Bexhill Neighbourhood Board (BNB) funding and focus.  It focused on the preparatory work required before any area could be designated. Members noted that the HSRA was a statutory enforcement power which the BNB was not able to take on itself, but it would be at nil cost to the Council at this stage.   An information gathering exercise would be carried out to audit all vacant properties, including ownership details within key roads in BTC, as identified with the report.  In August 2025, a snapshot count of vacant retails units in BTC identified a commercial property vacancy rate of c. 5%. It was proposed that Eastbourne Enterprise Agency be commissioned to carry out the audit, given their effective partnership with the Council on previous initiatives, to be completed by 31 March 2026.  The audit would cost approximately £5,000; to cover these costs an application had been made to the High Street Rental Auctions Fund (16 January 2026).  If the funding bid was not successful, the costs would be met from the Council’s regeneration budget.  Alongside the audit, an internal assessment would be completed by officers on all legal, financial and operational implications.  Should the Council decide to designate any proposed high streets, the Council would be required to undertake a 28-day public consultation.   It was noted that not many other local councils had used these powers following consideration due to various reasons.  It was anticipated that the policy would act as an incentive for landlords to divest properties that were no longer required and sat empty.         Cabinet agreed that HRSA would help address high street decline, approved the recommendations and looked forward to the audit results.   RESOLVED: That the:   1)     Head of Corporate, Strategic and Neighbourhood Services be authorised to oversee preparatory exploration of the benefits and costs of High Street Rental Auctions in Bexhill Town Centre High Streets; and   2)     recommendations on whether to designate the outlined area for High Street Rental Auctions following completion of preparatory work, be reported at a future meeting.

Date of Decision: February 2, 2026