How Long Can Hornchurch Survive? Traders Warn High Street Is Reaching Breaking Point.

Across our High Streets, empty shops now lie vacant as once-thriving businesses shut their doors. The Havering Daily spoke with Hornchurch retailers this week to hear first-hand about the impact rising business rates are having on local outlets and many were clear that their future on the High Street is now uncertain.

Several of these businesses are award-winning retailers, well known and much loved by residents, who have served the community for years and in some cases decades. But as residents continue to battle the cost of living crisis and business rates rise sharply, local shops are being pushed to breaking point.

Retailers told the Havering Daily that footfall has dropped as families cut back on spending, while fixed costs continue to soar. Business rates, energy bills, staffing, insurance and supplier costs have all increased, leaving many shopkeepers questioning whether they can survive another year.

The warning signs are already visible. Empty premises are now common across Hornchurch. The former Argos site has remained vacant for years, while the recent closure of the popular Pound Store has left yet another unit empty. Each closure adds to the sense that our High Streets are being hollowed out, one shop at a time.

Havering is not alone. Across London, thousands of retail units now sit empty, with boroughs reporting some of the highest vacancy rates seen in over a decade. Nationally, retail experts estimate that more than 13,000 shops closed across the UK last year, with independent businesses making up the majority of closures. Forecasts for this year suggest that thousands more could follow if costs continue to rise.

Local traders say the situation feels particularly unfair for outer London boroughs like Havering, where businesses often pay high rates but do not see the same level of investment or footfall as central areas. Many fear that without urgent reform of business rates and meaningful support for small businesses, High Streets like Hornchurch could face a very bleak future.

Retailers told the Havering Daily that they want to keep trading, keep employing local people and keep serving their communities. But without action, they warn that more shutters will come down and more empty units will appear, changing the face of Havering’s High Streets for good.

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