A Shrewsbury town councillor has urged landlords to reduce rents to help attract new business into the town and fill empty shops.

Councillor Andrew Wagner said small businesses often struggled to make a profit due to the rents they had to pay, which could be tens of thousands of pounds each year.“One of the major things in the town centre is landlords asking too much for leases,” he said.

“Then they are taken over by charity shops as they get really, really reduced rates.”

But would rent cuts help the town? Here, a businesswoman and a property expert give their views:

Businesses should negotiate terms, says David Perrin, Director and Head of Professional Services at Nock Deighton

David Perrin, Director and Head of Professional Services of Nock Deighton

In challenging economic circumstances, such as those we’re currently facing, no one potential solution can be ruled out, which is why Councillor Andrew Wagner’s call for landlords across Shrewsbury to lower rents for businesses will certainly carry plenty of popular support.

But it isn’t the only option on the table.

It cannot be stressed enough that commercial property leases are different from residential leases as they offer far less protection, but are also influenced much more by market forces, meaning they offer greater scope for negotiation and compromise.

This gives business owners the opportunity to get the best possible deal for their company, which is, of course, great news for the local economy, but also ensures that landlords aren’t left short-changed either.

For landlords currently struggling to fill smaller town centre shops and properties, adopting a more flexible approach and offering some sort of incentive or favourable terms can pay dividends.

This doesn’t necessarily mean providing lower rents on a long-term basis, but it could take the form of agreeing to a short-term lease, an initial period of lower rents, or even a rent-free period for new tenants – in all these situations, the landlord will see far greater benefits in filling a property, as opposed to it remaining unoccupied.

And for businesses on the lookout for premises, the same principle applies. Try and negotiate the best deal possible, whether that includes an initial rent reduction, regular rent reviews for medium to long-term leases, monthly rather than quarterly payments to ease cash flow, or a break clause allowing them to exit the lease at an agreed time.

Most importantly, there should be regular and honest dialogue between landlords and tenants to ensure any problems are discussed early on in the relationship, so that they can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

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There are better ways to help businesses, says Heather Maskill, manager of the Little Furniture Shop on Shrewsbury’s Wyle Cop

Heather Maskill, from the Little Furniture Shop, Shrewsbury

Reducing rents in the current climate would help small businesses because it would ease cash flow and help them plan better, but I don’t believe this is enough.

It may help a business stay in its premises a little bit longer and a new business may have a free rent period, but what happens after that?

Look at the retail parks and compare their footfall to the number of people shopping in town. Shropshire Council could invest in better and more productive ways to encourage visitors to the town, whether they are local people or national visitors.

They could reduce the parking fees (that’s another story) and encourage visitors to stay longer in town, have lunch and spend the day here rather than having to rush back to their cars.

They could work better with retailers to get them to offer an incentive – for example if you spend a certain amount here, you can get £2.50 off the cost of your parking.

What the consumer also needs is confidence, which I don’t believe they currently have. They need to hear some good news rather than always talking about the bad news.

It’s OK for MPs in London to say how wonderful it is here, but Shropshire is a different world to London.

We are losing businesses small and large and those shops are remaining vacant, so while a rent reduction would help, we need more action from local and national government to help before Shrewsbury becomes another ghost town.

What do you think? Give your views in the comment box below