How many empty shops are there in Basingstoke town centre?

You can’t walk far around Basingstoke town centre without spotting an empty unit, whether it is on the upper tier of Festival Place or a side alley at the Top of Town, it is not hard to find a boarded-up shop no longer in use. 

However, Basingstoke's flagship shopping centre has announced some promising news that some of its empty units could be put back into use. 

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It revealed that it is in "advance discussions to bring some fabulous new retailers to Festival Place" and it will announce "new names" shortly. 

But how do the empty shops in the town centre now compare to previous years? 

In September 2024, there were 31 empty shops in Festival Place alone. But if including the vacant units at the Top of Town, the number becomes staggeringly higher.

Now, there are 46 empty shops within the town centre area, including Festival Place, The Malls and the Top of Town. 

Some of the empty shops (Image: Newsquest) READ MORE: New cake shop to open its doors in Basingstoke this month

This figure does not include shops to be opened soon, including the Superbowl bowling alley in Festival Place’s upper tier or the two units allocated for The Artist’s Window, a creative arts charity.

Some units have been covered with huge posters of smiling faces or taken over by Festival Place themselves, such as The Book Barn. The majority of empty shops in the Top of Town are boarded up completely.

Empty shops (Image: Newsquest) Some businesses, like Harper’s Bazaar and Taco Bell, are closed but intact and haunt the centre with memories of what once was.

The town centre has had some new life recently, with the Post Box Sports Bar, Heavenly Desserts, Toytown, Boswells and Omakase coming to the centre in the last seven months.

More empty lots (Image: Newsquest) Several new shops will open in the next year, with CakeCo opening this month, the Duel nightclub premiering a karaoke bar, and the Superbowl bowling alley opening in the summer.

Festival Place director Vicky Hickson said: “We’re hugely excited for the opening of Superbowl later this year and with our new owners in place we can tell you that we’re in advance discussions to bring some fabulous new retailers to FP. We look forward to announcing some new names shortly.”

Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cllr Paul Harvey said: “Basingstoke is in a strong position with new restaurants, shops and leisure activities opening and footfall competing with areas such as Reading, Southampton and Portsmouth. But our town centre faces the same challenges as those across the country with the growth of internet shopping.

“Large parts of the town centre are privately owned so it is critical that we work together with our partners to make sure our town centre continues to be a key draw for residents and visitors. We look forward to working with the new managers of Festival Place to bring in new and exciting names, including more opportunities for independent local businesses and leisure activities.

“We are continuing to listen and work with businesses at the Top of the Town. Alongside our extensive events programme which is attracting thousands of people to the Top of the Town, we have been taking immediate action to improve the look and feel of the area as we know this makes such a difference for visitors. This includes funding for businesses to make improvements to their shop fronts through our Town and Village Centre Fund. As a result of the success of this scheme, we will be launching a new round of funding later this year.

“We can all play our part to make sure our town centre is successful for the future – somewhere to shop, socialise and enjoy new experiences. Please help us by continuing to support our amazing town centre businesses.”