The Empty Offices Next Door

When Maria moved to the small town of Hillford five years ago, the main street was full of shops and offices.

Today, three office buildings stand empty, and their windows are covered with dust.

Maria works for a large company in the city, but she has not been to her office since March.

Like many people, she now works from home, using video calls to meet her team.

This change has helped workers save time and money, but it has hurt towns like Hillford.

Small cafés and sandwich shops that once served office workers have lost most of their customers.

The town council is worried, so it has started a plan to bring life back to the centre.

It is turning one empty office building into a shared workspace for remote workers, and it is offering free internet and cheap desks.

Maria thinks this is a good idea, because she misses seeing people during the day.

However, some local shop owners are not sure it will work, since remote workers may still choose to stay at home.

The council believes that if the workspace succeeds, more small businesses will open nearby, and the town will slowly become busy again.