I’m today – 28 January – publishing the latest City Centre Management survey of vacant City Centre retail units (survey completed on 27 January).

It’s worth starting with the facts…

• We now have 38 empty retail units in the City Centre
• The percentage of retail units empty in Exeter currently stands at 6.11%
• The Exeter percentage vacancy rate compares very favourably with the current national average (running at around 14%)

A breakdown of the number of vacant City Centre retail units is set out below…

The economic climate remains challenging – with news on a number of national retail chains and the difficulties that they face well documented – and Exeter clearly can’t operate in a bubble. The City Centre inevitably remains at risk, along with every other town and city the length and breadth of the country, from the economic challenges facing the UK and global economies. However, I remain absolutely convinced that Exeter is better prepared to deal with the current tough economic challenges than many places – a direct result of the significant levels of City Centre investment delivered over recent years. Major new investment in the City Centre continues to come through and there is no doubt that the most significant current investment project – transforming the former Debenhams building in to a John Lewis at Home store – will help us maintain the momentum of change and renewal so necessary to our long-term competitive position.

I remain confident that the success story that is Exeter City Centre is set to continue… Companies such as John Lewis back winning cities – Exeter City Centre has a winning formula and a bright future.


John Harvey
City Centre Manager

28 January 2011