Bedford faces the lose of Clayton's, a large and long established clothing shop, from The Arcade. Other retailers may join the exodus as rent demands skyrocket beyond acceptable levels.
The outcome? An already underperforming town centre declines even further before landlords wake up to the reality that they are charging way beyond what the market will bear.
By that time the damage will have been done.
Frank Branston, the Mayor of Bedford, suggests that the borough subsidises the rent of any retailers affected in order to alleviate the problem. That's a welcome, even a brave, initiative; but it starts at the wrong end.
If the ratepayers subsidise the retailers then rents will be artificially inflated. The landlords will make hay at everyone's expense. It perpetuates the problem rather than addressing the root cause. Frank's heart is in the right place - it's just heading in the wrong direction.
I propose that empty retail units, rather than being relieved of business rates, be charged at a penal level until those units are again occupied by shops serving the local community.
Only in that way will landlords suffer the consequences of their own actions and, perhaps, think twice before they set rents at unaffordable levels.
In the meantime the Council can take action. It can make shopping in Bedford easier and more affordable by dealing with the traffic chaos and cutting parking costs.
