Anguish of Sheffield arts boss after fruitless hunt for new home - despite looking at 23 properties

Linda Bloomfield, founder of neighbourhood arts centre RivelinCo, says they want a shop space in Hillsborough so they are more visible and accessible. But after looking into 23 premises they are still searching.

She said: “Want to know why your high street is full of shops that have been empty for years? It's not always because nobody wants to fill them. Here's a real life example of what we've gone through trying to get into one in Hillsborough.”

She added: “People love to blame the council, but when it's all private landlords there's very little the council can actually do! Individuals at Sheffield City Council have been as supportive as they can be in our search so far. Sometimes businesses move before leases are up so landlords are still being paid, often for years. So they're in no hurry to fix issues and very happy to keep it empty.”

Linda’s Property Search, in her own words

Property #1: Large ex-bank, empty 5+ years. No landlord listed, found on Land Registry and contacted via LinkedIn. Agreed to viewing, but then sold the property to a developer. Now it's being turned into flats.

Property #2: Large shop, empty 5+ years. Too expensive for regular lease (for us). Enquired about meanwhile use until they fill it. Told no chance, estate agent refused to discuss option with landlord, landlord refused to speak with us directly.

Property #3: Small shop, empty 3+ years. Perfect size and cost for us. Massive hole in the floor and only temp lease available. Made an offer based on taking on temp lease as long as hole was fixed. Ghosted despite chasing over 10 times by phone and email. Waited for temp lease to end and full lease to be advertised. Told landlord has decided to sell instead.

Property #4: Small shop, empty 15+ years. Not listed anywhere. Wrote letter to flat above, but if no response/intel we assume this will remain empty until, I guess, the owner dies?

Property #5: Small shop, empty 2+ years. Not listed anywhere. Found old shop FB page, and found therapist who used to be based there on Instagram. They shared that the landlords own the nail bar down the road. Visited nail bar, got landlord contact...they're selling it, so no lets.

Property #6: Small shop, empty 20+ years. Not listed anywhere. No useful details on Land Registry. Another shop owner suggested a name of someone who used to own it. Wild goose chase via 3 other shop owners to eventually find out that person sold it on and the new owner is unknown.

Property #7: Small shop, empty 15+ years. Went for viewing and shop in extremely poor state, nothing working, needs full renovation which we can't afford. Made offer based on reduced rent to account for renovation costs. Refused.

She ended: “There are at least 15 more empty shops which could work, but aren't listed anywhere. We've written letters to every landlord we can find on the Land Registry, but hopes are not high. All we want to do is give someone money to fill an empty space. Why is it so hard?!”