Forcing landlords to rent out empty high street shops could bring up to 58,000 premises back into use, according to a think tank.

A new report, published by the centre-right think tank Onward, estimated that there are around 58,000 empty high street stores across the UK.

The reports authors, Will Tanner, director of Onward, and James Blagden, said: "A week rarely passes without more headlines about high street decline. In recent years a string of big retailers have exited the high street and the number of vacant units creeps ever higher.

"This economic problem brings with it serious social problems. Thriving local high streets are closely linked to civic pride and vacant storefronts are a visible sign of a community in decline."

Nationally, 14 per cent of high street shops are vacant - twice the average seen before the 2008 financial crisis. But in some towns, vacancy is much higher.

High street vacancy rates are rising fastest in poorer regions. Between 2020 and 2021, vacancy rates rose fastest in the West Midlands (8.8%), North East (7.2%) and East Midlands (7.8%). This compares to a just 1.9% rise in London and falls in high street vacancy rates in Wales and Scotland.

The authors added: "The Government has set out the beginnings of a plan to address this challenge. It wants to force landlords of long-term vacant units to lease them via a rental auction.

"This new analysis finds that there could be benefits to this idea: It could bring 58,000 empty high street units back into use, including thousands in strugglng towns in the North and Midlands that need levelling up.

"This is because high street vacancy is closely link to who owns the building. Vacancy rates for shops owned by investment management schemes and financial companies are nearly ten times higher as those for shops owned by private individuals. The former also accounts for 46 per cent of all empty shops."

The paper sets out how the Government's plan to force landlords to bring empty high street shops into use via a public auction could work:

Local authorities would be given the power to require a compulsory rent auction on any high street or shopping centre unit that has been vacant for 12 months or more.

The owner of a property subject to a compulsory rent auction would be legally required to auction a temporary (2-5 year) lease for the premises.

Prospective tenants would then offer competitive bids for the level of rent they are prepared to pay, with no reserve price. Theoretically a property could be leased for £1 a month.

If a landlord does not respond or refuses to engage, the local authority would have the power to let the property on their behalf and hold rental receipts in escrow until claimed.

Will Tanner said: "Auctioning off empty units for the benefit of start ups, community groups and charities would transform the face of high streets up and down the country and this practical plan that Onward has developed will show them how to do exactly that."