Photo collection of the empty shops on Union Street, Aberdeen during November 2019.

1. Union Street
The Empty Shops

2. Vacant high street spaces speak of
emptiness, poverty, unworthiness,
unwantedness and depression.

3. The empty commercial units on Union Street have become unused due to changes in the way
people shop. People like the convenience of internet shopping now, if they go out into town they
find their favourite brands in the shopping centres where they can go from shop to shop without
getting their hair wet in the rain, and parking is found in the same undercover location.
Sometimes these empty units have been bought for, or are waiting to be developed but still, these
one-time pieces of prime real estate have become less affordable through high business rates and
rents and some have been sitting empty for years, nearly decades like the once proud old Bruce
Millers building, which has been sadly sitting empty since 2011.

4. In a local public poll, 354 people answered the question, “Do
you consider Union Street a street of importance in
Aberdeen?”
325 said Yes
29 said No

5. 25 Union Street

6. 27 Union Street

7. Poll participants were asked,
“Why would you go to Union Street?”
• To shop and socialise
• It’s the heart of Aberdeen city centre, and for shopping
• Shopping and meeting friends for lunch
• I walk along it every day to get to work
• It is where I catch the bus
• To see the Christmas lights
• To walk through it
• To look at the shops and lovely buildings
• Mainly for banking
Answers received included;

8. 33 Union Street

9. 43 Union Street

10. 91-93 Union Street

11. “Why would you go to Union Street?”
• I would go if they had more shops
• No real reason now as there is nothing there
• I very seldom do go now but if I do it’s to one of the bars or
restaurants
• I don’t have much reason to go to Union Street anymore
• I wouldn’t at present
• I wouldn’t at the moment
• To get somewhere else
• To pass through
Other answers were less positive;

12. 80 Union Street

13. 269-271 Union Street

15. 177 Union Street

16. 181a Union Street

17. “Why would you not go to Union Street?”
• Rundown, tacky
• Because it’s half empty now, looks awful
• It is a mess
• Dirty depressing street
• No need to go if no shops to go to
• It is looking particularly shabby, it is not clean
• Wouldn’t go near at night due to too many drunken idiots and beggars
• It’s really depressing…It breaks my heart to see the life drain from it. It definitely
affects my mental health seeing it day in and out.
Then they were asked…

18. 207 Union Street

19. 225-227 Union Street

20. 233 Union Street

21. “If you have noticed the empty shops on
Union Street, what do you think about
them?”
• Not surprised. Not a nice street to associate your business with.
• It’s depressing and a sad reflection on the state of the city centre and the retail
environment. It’s a national problem. Traditional bricks and mortar businesses
simply can’t compete with the online retailers and change in shopping habits. . It’s
not that they don’t want to be there. They just can’t afford to be there. The
business rates system needs a massive overhaul - abolished In fact and replaced
with an alternative retail tax on ALL retailers - store and online. It’s not a level
playing field at the moment and it’s only getting worse.
• Loads of them, not great but what can we do when all we need to do is push a
button and someone delivers your shopping now.

22. 335-337 Union Street

23. 339 Union Street

24. 345 Union Street

25. “If you have noticed the empty shops on
Union Street, what do you think about
them?”
• It is turning into a ghost town which is sad for Aberdeen
• Pity the rents are too high for local independent shops
• It looks very run down. What used to be a beautiful street is now very much
neglected.
• The council needs to cut the business rates and get them filled again.
• Poor council management, excessive rate charges.
• A disgrace, the life has gone out of a once lovely town.
• Waste of valuable space that could be used to revitalise the street.
• It’s a shame and needs urgent attention before they all get ruined and look more
tacky
• More should be done to attract smaller, different shops. Create a vibrant alternative
to shopping malls.
• They look like gaps in a smiling mouth - fill them with something - repurpose empty
units.

26. 363 Union Street

27. 379 Union Street

28. 401-405 Union Street

29. Contrary to popular belief, local councils do not set the business rates. this is set at a national level and the local council do not have a
say in this matter although in Aberdeen, they certainly seem to take a lot of the blame.
Independent, non-party think tank 'Reform Scotland' has called for a devolution of business rates from Westminster to Holyrood
(Reform Scotland, 2018) who can devolve to local authorities allowing rates and reliefs to be set separately by each of the 32 local
authority areas, each being able to weigh up what is best for their area dependant on their own particular economic and retail climate.
"There are diverse regional economies across Scotland, where the effects of unemployment, ageing populations and business creation
and investment differ. A one-size-fits-all approach didn't work from Westminster, and it also doesn't work from Holyrood. Our local
authorities must have greater local fiscal responsibility" (Reform Scotland, 2018).
However, twenty-seven business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses, CBI, SCDI, Scottish Chambers of Commerce and
trade organisations as diverse as engineering, hairdressing, bookselling, tourism, gardening, and food and drink have united to write to
MSPs to call for the uniform business rate to remain in Scotland.
Their letter says: "We are writing to you ahead of stage three of the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill to voice our alarm and shared
concern over recently adopted amendments which seek to scrap the uniform business rate and instead hand control over this £2.8
billion tax to each of the 32 local authorities to set their own poundage rate, rates reliefs, and any supplements or surcharges... We,
therefore, urge you and fellow MSPs to overturn these amendments, which simply introduce fresh complexity, cost and unpredictability
into the rates system, and which are at odds with the rates reform agenda of ensuring competitiveness and minimising complexity"
(Davidson, 2020).
This may take some time to come to terms with… Meanwhile the shops sit empty.

30. 413-415 Union Street

31. 417-419 Union Street

32. 465 Union Street

33. The amenity of the area is being compromised by
these empty commercial units; potentially
discouraging investment and maintenance by
others, reducing property values, frustrating
regeneration and working against local civic pride.

34. 471-473 Union Street

35. 491 Union Street

36. 493 Union Street

37. Rising national business rates have made renting these high-rent / high-rate shop units financially impossible for many
businesses which is one of the reasons the high streets are flooded with charity shops. The charities can afford these
spaces as the business owner gets to keep the money due in business rates, the space is occupied and the charity gets
cheap or free rent with 80-100% discount on their business rates (Government Digital Service, 2012). This is termed rental
mitigation or rate relief.
New life is coming to high street properties abandoned in the retail slump in the form of the 'Meanwhile Space’ which
makes use of the charity status and rate relief. The Meanwhile Foundation's manifesto is to create socio-economic value
from the vacant property by understanding and sharing best case practices in meanwhile use. Resources are available to
members including legal and business model advice (Meanwhile Foundation, 2019).
Art and culture are common in meanwhile spaces.

38. 470 Union Street

39. 440 Union Street

40. 166 Union Street

42. 164 Union Street

43. 92 Union Street

44. “'Meanwhile spaces': the empty shops becoming a creative force across the country" (Edemariam,
2019).
Meanwhile Spaces use these vacant lots in the meantime, normally in ways that engage and boost the
morale of the community and can be used to help build on the identity of the area.
Union Street's (circa) 30 empty commercial units are waiting for what comes next, blinking slowly,
without anything to do but fill passers-by with despair.
Opportunity calls for Aberdeen’s Union Street, even if only for the meanwhile.

45. For the full results of the public poll regarding the empty shops on Union
Street visit:
https://poll.app.do/view/53RonqsN8B3oZcUusSXheezb