‘Spiral of decline’ for UK town centre shops

A report by the Local Data Company, found that British high streets face “structural issues”, with the internet’s share of the shopping market doubling in the past 11 years and out-of-town centres on the rise.

The report warned many centres are “locked in a spiral of decline”. The vacancy rate stands at 14.3 per cent, or 48,000 shops.

With 2012 expected to see a further fall in consumer confidence, and rising unemployment, the study predicts that the vacancy rate will rise again.

Stockport was the worst centre with a vacancy rate over 30 per cent, while Nottingham, Grimsby, Stockton-on-Tees, Wolverhampton, Blackburn, Walsall and Blackpool all had more than a quarter of shops empty.

Although York and Harrogate had vacancy rates below 10 per cent, the best performing centres were mainly in the south and west. These included Exeter, Kingston, Camden, Cambridge, Taunton, Salisbury and St Albans, which was the best performer with an 8.2 per cent vacancy rate.

The survey revealed that the squeeze in consumer spending was also hurting shopping malls, with one-in-five suffering financial difficulties.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps said: “It is clear that while some high streets are thriving, others face stiff competition from internet shopping and out-of-town shopping centres.

“That’s why we already have responded rapidly to recommendations in Mary Portas’s review on the future of high streets and will publish our full response in the spring.”