Meeting of Minds Seminar

Community Ownership -

Breaking the Deadlock on Empty High Street Properties

Thursday 24 April 2025, 2 - 4.30 pm

The Festival Drayton Centre, Frogmore Road,

Market Drayton TF9 3AX

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Our Speakers

Vicki Bidwell

Policy Lead for High Street Rental Auction at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Vicki brings a wealth of over 20 years experience working for MHCLG. During the last two years, Vicki has led the policy design and implementation of High Street Rental Auctions.

Iain Nicholson

Founder of The Vacant Shops Academy to help town and city centres reduce empty units and diversify high street use.

Iain was City Centre Manager for Oxford (2019–21) and part of the IPM membership team (2022–24). He played a key role in revitalising high streets through award-winning projects in Wantage, Banbury, Wallingford, and Abingdon, focusing on tackling shop vacancies and launching BIDs.

A former BBC radio journalist, Iain brings expertise in PR, communications strategy, social media, and business engagement to his regeneration work.

Charlotte Hollins

Charlotte is the General Manager of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative (charitable community benefit society) which owns Fordhall Organic Farm, the UK's first community owned farm. She is also, a published author, consultant on land-based community ownership, and a key leader in the We’re Right Here Campaign for a Community Power Act.

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative has won a number of awards over the years including the Schumacher Award for their contribution towards sustainable development, Planet Award from Social Enterprise West Midlands, Young Entrepreneur Award from The Field and they are a Flagship Social Enterprise for the West Midlands.

Sally Themans

As the driving force behind Love Bridgnorth, Love Wellington, and Love Shifnal, Sally has helped instill community pride and boost local support and investment for high streets through impactful campaigns.

On a national level, Sally has advised MHCLG on community engagement. She founded and leads the Shropshire Town Centre Champions Group, which works to drive collaboration and is a board member of Visit Shropshire.

Having been a two-time finalist in the Great British High Street Awards she
brings her expertise to the judging panel, helping to recognise and celebrate the very best of Britain’s high streets nationwide.

We will also hear from our hosts, the community owned and run Festival Drayton, with chair of trustees Geoff Vernon MBE telling us about this trailblazing venue and its model of ownership.

The event promises to be insightful, exploring community ownership and breaking the deadlock on empty high street properties. Themes will also include innovative approaches to revitalising town centres, strategies for sustainable local development, and fostering community collaboration to create thriving spaces.

About Us

Since 2015, Good2Great has been revitalising town centres and helping local businesses and thus local economies to thrive.

Our place marketing initiatives, including ‘Love Bridgnorth,’ ‘Love Wellington,’ and ‘Love Shifnal,’

have actively engaged local communities and businesses, driving footfall and investment to reduce vacancy rates.

Our most recent initiatives include The High Street Boost, Stafford and South Staffordshire, offering coaching from retail experts to create robust businesses and a vibrant high street.

We believe in a holistic approach to tackling empty properties, combining place branding, community engagement, business support, and targeted marketing to attract the right businesses and create flourishing high streets.

By fostering collaboration between councils and entrepreneurs, we create sustainable working solutions that bring life back to empty units.

In most recent years, we have been named: