Cabinet decides on Monday 7 September whether to consult on powers to auction the lease of any shop empty for a year. Kineton has the worst vacancy rate, 20%.

Landlords who leave shops empty for more than a year in Stratford-upon-Avon, Alcester and Southam could be forced to let them at auction. Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s Cabinet decides on Monday 7 September whether to start consulting on the powers. The meeting is at 10am in the Council Chamber at Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, and is open to the public.

High Street Rental Auction powers come from the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. Once a council has designated a “high street” area, it can force an auction of the lease on any commercial property in it that has been empty for 366 days in the last two years. The report to Cabinet says the biggest effect seen elsewhere comes before any auction happens: landlords start letting properties once they know the powers exist.

The three centres picked first, and why

Officers propose consulting on Stratford-upon-Avon, Alcester and Southam first, because those centres have been monitored longest and have the best evidence. That is despite some smaller centres having worse vacancy rates. The report is explicit about it, and ward members have already pushed back, arguing for the powers in all the district’s centres to avoid a “two-tier” approach.

Each area needs its own statutory 28-day consultation of the businesses within it before it can be designated. One consequence the report flags for everyone inside a designated area: every property in it gets a land charge, similar to a conservation area entry, which could affect future lettings, sales or investment.

The report’s timetable aims for the first designated area to be adopted by the end of 2026, with a delivery group set up by November 2026.

What the vacancy figures show

The report counts 54 empty units across eight of the district’s nine monitored centres in July 2026, a rate of 9.4% against a national rate of 13.2% (Savills, first quarter of 2026).

One thing to notice: that 9.4% figure does not include Stratford-upon-Avon itself. The totals row in the report’s table only adds up if the town’s 282 units are left out, and the report gives no July figure for the town at all. Its last published count for Stratford-upon-Avon is February 2026: 27 units empty, 9.5%.

Shop vacancy rates by centre, July 2026 Bar chart of shop vacancy rates in Stratford-on-Avon district centres in July 2026. Kineton 20 percent, Wellesbourne 9.8, Alcester 9.6, Bidford-on-Avon 9.4, Studley 9.3, Southam 8.8, Shipston 8.7, Henley-in-Arden 7.9. The national rate is 13.2 percent. Stratford-upon-Avon has no July figure; its February figure was 9.5 percent. Empty shops by centre, July 2026 Vacancy rate. The three centres proposed for rental auction powers are marked * Kineton 20.0% Wellesbourne 9.8% Alcester * 9.6% Bidford-on-Avon 9.4% Studley 9.3% Southam * 8.8% Shipston-on-Stour 8.7% Henley-in-Arden 7.9% Stratford-u-Avon * 9.5% (Feb 26, no July figure) National rate 13.2% (Savills, Q1 2026) Source: Enabling High Street Rental Auction powers, report to Cabinet, 7 September 2026 Graphic by Stratford Avon News
Kineton has the district's worst rate but is not in the first wave, because the council holds less vacancy history for it.

Since February, Southam’s rate has nearly halved, from 15.5% to 8.8%, while Studley’s has climbed from 5.7% to 9.3%.

The buildings everyone thinks of may be exempt

The report names the district’s most visible empty buildings, the old BHS and Mothercare in Stratford-upon-Avon and the fire-damaged Three Tuns in Alcester, as “blighted” vacancies. It then concedes that buildings like these might fall outside the powers entirely, because government guidance excludes properties where the cost and complexity of repairs is too great. Properties with no realistic tenant demand can also be left out.

So the powers are aimed at the ordinary empty shop, not the landmark ruin. The Three Tuns was already fire-damaged when it was photographed in November 2021, and the report offers no route to bringing buildings in that condition back through auctions.

There is money attached for the council: up to £5,223 of government New Burdens funding per auction, and £1,791 if a case is resolved before marketing. Eleven councils have piloted the powers nationally, joined recently by Rugby.

Also on Monday’s agenda

  • Alcester’s updated Neighbourhood Plan goes out for its final consultation. Cabinet is asked to approve a six-week Regulation 16 consultation on the reviewed Alcester Neighbourhood Development Plan, starting on 10 September. After that it goes to an independent examiner. The submission version and its appendices are already published.
  • A possible top-up for community grants. The council’s £350,000 Community Grant Scheme 2025 funded eight projects, but 53 qualifying applications asked for a little over £3m in total. Cabinet will consider whether to fund more of them this year.
  • The lease of 19 Sheep Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. The financial details are in an exempt appendix, so that part may be discussed in private.
  • The Warwickshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, neighbourhood plan grant funding, and quarter-one budget and performance monitoring.

What it means for you

Nothing is enforced yet, and no individual shop is named. If Cabinet approves the recommendations, the next step you would actually see is informal discussion with landlords, agents and communities, then a formal 28-day consultation in each of the three centres. If you run a business in one of them, that consultation is your chance to comment, and we will report when each one opens.

Our business directory tracks who is trading across the district, and the agenda for Monday’s meeting is online in full.

Sources