Petition Plan for empty shops in the High Street

The solution to stop shops remaining empty in our high streets is straightforward. The answer is forlocal authorities to double the council tax for premises which remain empty for more than a year and triple it if they remain empty for more than two years. This to encourage the owners to lease at more reasonable levels.
We are still a nation of shopkeepers (let’s face it we don’t produce so much nowadays) and there are masses of people out there who would love to open a business. However, the greed level of owners means the lease and rental costs being charged make it completely impossible to run a viable business, in such economic times and deters most people from even trying to start something new.
Stop blaming the supermarkets for everything and promote some healthy competition for them.