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A message about Centric Parade in Loughton from Councillor Aniket Patel, Portfolio Holder responsible for Commercial properties.
Reassure residents
There have been various social media rumours circulating about vacant shops and the future of Centric Parade in Loughton. First of all, we would like to reassure local residents that the district council does not have any plans to knock down Centric Parade. Any potential plans to enhance the current buildings may be considered in the future.
Even though high street economies across the country have been hit hard by the Covid Pandemic, our local Epping Forest high streets have stood up remarkably well under the pressure of the lockdowns and provide important income we use to support public services.
A natural level of vacancies
All high streets have a natural level of vacancies as businesses come and go, but the outlook for our commercial rentals is good. All our currently vacant units are being marketed and we have received significant interest from various businesses ranging from supermarket retailers to hospitality. Two of the vacant premises are already under offer and I expect that the rest will follow in the next few months.
Company Voluntary Arrangement
Councillor Aniket Patel continued:
New Look has been struggling during Lockdown and we’ve worked hard with them to retain their current lease at Centric Parade, but ultimately the decision to stay or go is a commercial decision for New Look management.
We understand New Look is under a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). Covid has hit so many big High Street names hard and we would be sad to see New Look close. However, the commercial interest we have received in our Centric Parade vacancies is exceptional.
Support all local businesses
I assure our residents that we will do everything we can to not only revitalise Centric Parade but support all local businesses to get back on their feet. Currently a lot of work is taking place on regeneration studies and proposals to support the economic recovery of our local towns.
Two reports on Loughton High Road and Loughton Broadway will be prepared in the next few weeks. We want to make our local town centres busy, vibrant places to visit once again.
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