Action plan to lift property market; Forum voices fears over town centre businesses

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), June 22, 2009

Byline: HENRYK ZIENTEK

A GROUP of property experts in Huddersfield are urging action to kick-start the commercial property market - and boost the local economy.

A raft of measures to help buyers and sellers was drawn up at the first meeting of the newly-formed Huddersfield Region Commercial Property Forum.

The forum, hosted by town centre law firm Baxter Caulfield, also voiced concerns about the future of Huddersfield town centre in the wake of high-profile retail collapses.

The new forum brings together property professionals, bankers and others with interests in commercial, industrial and retail property.

In a wide-ranging debate, forum members highlighted key issues affecting the local commercial property scene and the economy.

The forum, chaired by Baxter Caulfield partner Richard Gillatt, will meet regularly to review progress on the issues raised and hear from invited speakers on property-related matters.

The forum highlighted the imposition of business rates on empty properties, stamp duty levels and the banks' strict lending criteria as issues putting a brake on commercial development.

It also called for a "coherent strategy" by Kirklees Council for developing Huddersfield town centre in the light of rival schemes and plans for new supermarkets as well as a parking strategy to make the town centre more accessible to care users.

And it urged the council to improve road links to the M62 - claiming that the town had failed to take the advantage of opening up land alongside the motorway to commercial development.

Mike Sellers, of Boultons Estate

Agents, said: "As the motorway was being built, New Hey Road was widened.

Today, the council has reduced it to one lane each way. The approach to taking traffic to and from the motorway is a joke." Peter Butler, consultant with Bramleys, said: "The highways infrastructure limits potential development.

The council has been very slow to provide decent access to the M62 and open up land at places like Cooper Bridge, for instance." Mr Butler also asked how Huddersfield town centre would look in 20 years' time - given the increasing number of empty properties in New Street, the Packhorse Centre and Market Avenue.

Town centre manager Cathy Burger said Huddersfield had been hit by the collapse of several national chains as well as landlords demanding high rents on some properties. Many retailers looking to open stores also required bigger floorspace that the town centre could offer.

She said Huddersfield "did better" than all its surrounding towns, including Halifax and Wakefield, but added: "Huddersfield needs to improve on its shopping offer. Kingsgate provided a boost, but other towns are developing to compete and if we are not careful we could slip back." Mark Hanson, of Hanson Chartered Surveyors said: "The ring road is a collar that is restricting the town. The whole issue should be about breaking that collar to enable development to spill out down Chapel Hill and towards the stadium." Mr Hanson said the commercial property market was also being held back by caution among lenders and advisers.

"There are plenty of people wanting to buy, but getting the deal over the line is proving an absolute toil.

"Some would-be buyers are being advised to hold off because there will be a better deal 'round the corner' while banks see the market as still falling." Mr Butler said: "We suspect we are nearing the bottom of the market in terms of value. Our advice is that if a building is suitable for purpose, buy it now because in 12 months time it could be more expensive." Forum members criticised the Government policy of levying business rates on empty property as encouraging landlords to demolish old buildings and reducing the stock of commercial property still further.

Mr Sellers said the Government should introduce a stamp duty holiday - or raise the level substantially - as well as scrap its Energy Performance Certificates, the cost of which deterred owners from putting surplus property on the market..

CAPTION(S):

PROPERTY WATCH: Richard Gillatt (front), partner at Baxter Caulfield and chairman of Huddersfield Region Commercial Property Forum, with forum members outside the firm's Station Street offices (AC090609Cforum-01.jpg)