I’m today – 05 January – publishing the latest City Centre Management survey of vacant City Centre retail units (survey completed on 04 January).
It’s worth starting with the facts…
- We now have 40 empty retail units in the City Centre
- The percentage of retail units empty in City Centre now stands at 6.44%
- Of the 16 City Centre areas for which vacancies are listed, 8 areas are showing the same vacancy rates as contained in the November vacancy survey, 3 areas are showing an increase (Paris Street, Guildhall Shopping Centre and Sidwell Street) and 5 areas are showing fewer vacancies than in November (Princesshay, Queen Street, Harlequins, High Street, and South Street)
- Of the 16 City Centre areas for which vacancies are listed, 5 areas are showing no vacancies at all.
- The City Centre 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 incredibly challenging – a position underlined by the mixed bag of Christmas trading results now emerging and by businesses such as Hawkins Bazaar going in to Administration. The difficulties being faced by a number of retailers are well documented and Exeter remains at risk from the on-going challenges to the UK economy. There is no doubt that Exeter, along with other cities and towns across the UK, will see further retail closures and I am in no doubt that 2012 will be another challenging year. I remain very buoyant however about the ability of the City Centre to meet the economic challenges head-on and believe that the investments both recently delivered and in the pipeline will maintain the momentum of change and renewal in the City Centre that will ensure Exeter continues to be a shining beacon of opportunity and prosperity within the region.
When the Portas Review was launched in December I commented that I believed the strongest city and town centres would continue to prosper and grow, whilst those with underlying weaknesses were at risk of their problems accelerating. I remain convinced by this argument and have no doubt that Exeter is one of the strongest centres in the Region – with that strength underlined by the John Lewis investment in the city. The reality is that strong brands such as John Lewis and Urban Outfitters back winning City Centres with a winning forward-thinking development strategy – Exeter is without doubt such a City Centre.
I am incredibly excited about the opportunities that 2012 presents. Encouraging Christmas trading figures, good post Christmas sales figures and the best retail vacancy figures since 2008 offer a great New Year springboard for the City Centre.
John Harvey
Exeter City Centre Manager
Thursday 5 January 2012
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