Shop vacancy rates highlights great North-South divide

Town centre vacancy rates rose from just over 12% at the end of 2009 to 13% at the end of June, according to the Local Data Company.

Southern cities are coping far better, with Bristol having just half the vacancy rate of Blackpool, the worst affected large centre with almost 30% of shops closed.

Of the 63 large centres studied across the UK, 10 showed an improvement over the last six months and eight of those showed a consistent improvement over the year.

Those "improvers" included Bath, Guildford, central London, Cardiff and Liverpool.

Among the 400 medium-sized centres, just 73 had improved over the last six months.

Among those, all but one - Grantham in Lincolnshire - were in the southern half of the country.

The study concluded: "This data shows vacancy increasing in a majority of centres and, more worryingly, particularly in those centres where the budget and job cuts proposed for the public sector will begin to bite.

"Combined with the increase in VAT in January, this will likely be a double blow for the big retail centres in the North and Midlands particularly."

Matthew Hopkinson, the LDC's business development director, said: "Our latest report shows the reality of a slowed but still rising increase in shop vacancy rates across the country.

"Whilst some centres, particularly central London and the South East, are showing stabilisation or improvement, others in the provinces are not. The impact of the VAT increase, public sector cuts and fierce competition within the multi-channel retail environment make it increasingly hard for shops on our high streets.

"In light of these new and fast growing off-the-high-street channels, will we ever need these vacant shops again? For those that survive, service, quality of offer and price need to be their values in order to ensure they can thrive."

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: "It is encouraging to see high streets recovering in the South, but that glimmer of positive news does not hide the fact that retail markets elsewhere are struggling, and that consumer confidence is still fragile."