One idea that occurred to me would be for a few local people to buy some of the shops and become the landlord. Commercial property is cheap compared to residential.
An example would be http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop...d=11320319
If you don't want to see a Fried Chicken Shop on the High Street, why not buy it for a mere £130k (complete with 4 bedroom flat).
You could easily rent this shop out for £28k per annum, and this doesn't include any income from the flat above. In 3-4 years you should have made your money back, which is a better yield than residential rental. Admittedly the lease is only 15 years so you don't get to keep the property, but you have 10 years pure profit.

Am I missing something (other than £130k in cash)?