A new study has called for the creation of a fund that can help local communities takeover empty high street buildings as a record number of shops stand empty.

A new report from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, commissioned by Power to Change, has found that a record 16% of shops on Britain’s high streets are currently empty, and one in every 20 vacant units have been shuttered up for more than three years.

The report, titled Community businesses and high streets: ‘taking back’ and leading forward, argues that community businesses – businesses that are owned and ran by and for their local communities – contribute to high street regeneration, increasing footfall by offering spaces and services that differ from the traditional retail model.

In particular, the report found that community businesses support new and emerging forms of economic activity; slow down and prevent gentrification; create clusters of activity supporting other businesses; create conditions that support high street revitalisation and support the development of policy and funding to better support high streets.

In order to make community ownership more accessible, Power to Change called for the creation of a £350m High Street Buyout Fund. The fund would be designed to act quickly to purchase empty buildings, holding them until communities have the funds and structure to run the building for the long-term.

Power to Change is specifically calling on the Government to invest £100m of Levelling Up Fund money to help capitalise the fund. They argued that this would have the potential to transform over 200 high street properties by leveraging £250m of private and commercial and social investment against the grant.

Nick Plumb, policy manager at Power to Change said: ‘High streets were once the beating hearts of our local communities, but the growth of out-of-town retail; the rise of megastores; a seismic shift towards online shopping; and more recently a cost-of-living crisis has left them vulnerable. This report makes clear what we know: that greater community ownership and involvement in the high street will push back against these worrying trends.

‘A High Street Buyout Fund will help local people overcome the barriers they face, such as access to money at speed, in taking ownership of their high streets. We need this radical action now to ensure our much-loved community spaces survive and thrive.’