I was speaking to one of the traders on Dartmouth Rd and he said that he had tried negotiating with the owner of the former bakery to reopen it, but that the owner was not interested. He also said that the owner of the former Barclay's bank was happy to keep that (and the flats above) empty as well.

Unfortunately, I believe that the recent legislation only applies to empty dwellings and is not something the Council could pursue with EDMOs.