I don’t know if the UK has eminent domain, but in the US the city can use eminent domain to purchase and do something. But in this case, I think if anyone wanted that property, they would purchase it. So it’s a bit of a tough problem to fix by government intervention.
And Gordon Ramsey restaurants are pretty luxury, so it’s not like there’s some essential gap by this pub being empty until someone wants to purchase the space.
My understanding is that they do not, for a listed building that is vacant.
> If your commercial property belongs to one or more of the following categories, you’ll be eligible for an extended period of relief for business rates, provided that your property is fully empty and not in use:
...
> If your building is a listed building, you will only begin paying business rates once the property is occupied once again
i'm guessing it's been vacant since at least then?
There needs to be some mechanism for communities to reclaim spaces like this. they have value to a town, and leaving them vacant has a cost. i'm not sure giving them over to squatters is the right solution, but there needs to be consequences for property owners who harm a community by taking up space and ensuring it provides zero value to anybody by leaving it vacant.