- Small business invited to apply for affordable new retail space in prime town centre location
- Town Hall Place aims to diversify the high street with a wider range of independent, niche traders
- As landlord, Tamworth Borough Council has made the terms and conditions as favourable as possible, with rents as little as £150 per week
Small independent businesses looking to grow to the next level are being invited to apply for brand new affordable retail space in the heart of Tamworth town centre.
Tamworth Borough Council is building a new hub with seven individual units to help local niche businesses start up or grow.
Town Hall Place, located opposite the historic Tamworth Town Hall in Market Street, is nearing completion, and Tamworth Borough Council is inviting enquiries from micro/small traders interesting in this exciting opportunity.
The design of Town Hall Place has been inspired by architectural features of nearby heritage buildings. This includes stunning arches above each new shop front reflecting the stone pillars on the 18th century Town Hall, and herringbone style brickwork mirroring the historic herringbone wall of Tamworth Castle.
As the owner and landlord of the building, Tamworth Borough Council is offering ‘easy in, easy out’ rental terms, with competitive rates and short-term leases, to give independent businesses the opportunity to trade in a prime town centre location.
The units are small and manageable, ranging in size from 138 to 368 square foot. Rents start from as little as £150 per week for the smallest unit, with additional service charges for utilities, waste and cleaning of communal areas. Rents are set to encourage pop-up businesses and new business startups, helping entrepreneurs to take steps to become established.
A key aim of Town Hall Place is to improve the choice and appeal of Tamworth town centre by attracting high-quality businesses not currently available on the high street.
While there are no restrictions on the type, applicants will be objectively assessed to make sure their offering is in line with those ambitions - and what customers want.
Ideal tenants could include makers and creators, vintage or themed fashion, children’s clothes, artisan bread, specialist food, florists, haberdasheries, jewellers, bridal wear, arts and crafts, and gifts. The two largest units could be suited to hospitality or food and drink.
Town Hall Place tenants will also benefit from free business advice and support, including opportunity for working collaboratively with the council on joint events and promotions.
Councillor Nova Arkney, portfolio holder for infrastructure and local economy at Tamworth Borough Council, said: “The idea behind Town Hall Place is to give local small independent businesses a realistic and viable option for trading in a prime town centre location.
“The units are small and the costs are competitive. As the landlord, with the goal of improving the overall appeal of Tamworth town centre, we have been able to make the terms as favourable as we possibly can to attract a wider variety of unique businesses.
“Combined with the advice and support of our business team, we can hopefully help these ventures grow to the point that they can move to a more permanent vacant unit elsewhere in the town, opening Town Hall Place up to more niche independents in the future.
“The ultimate aim is to grow a sustainable community of successful and diverse small businesses in Tamworth.”
Any businesses interested in renting a unit at Town Hall Place can email business@tamworth.gov.uk.
More information is also available on the Town Hall Place webpage.
Town Hall Place is one of several projects being delivered as part of the £21.65m Future High Streets Fund grant, which was secured back in 2020 to regenerate the high street. Extensive community engagement carried out prior to the original Expression of Interest being submitted to the government in March 2019, revealed ‘niche shops’ as the number one thing people would like to see more of in the town centre.
More information about the Future High Streets Fund regeneration work and how it came about, is available at https://www.tamworth.gov.uk/transforming-tamworth.