St Albans has lowest rate of empty high street shops, survey reveals (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans has lowest rate of empty high street shops, survey reveals

12:00pm Wednesday 8th February 2012 in News By Mike Wright

St Albans has been named as the city with the lowest level of vacant high street shops following a national survey.

The Local Data Company today announced that high street vacancies in the city were at 8.2 per cent, the lowest rate for "large centres" across the country.

Stockport, near Manchester, was named as the town with the highest percentage of vancant shops, with more than 30% empty.

St Albans MP Anne Main welcomed the news but said the city still had to focus on filling the shops that still lie vacant.

She said: “I am pleased that St Albans’ high streets appear to be faring well in these difficult economic times. However there is no room for complacency.

“There are still many problems that businesses in St Albans are struggling with including securing loans from banks. We have seen shops closures recently and I hope that these units are replaced quickly.

“St Albans District Council is consulting on plans to revitalise the city centre and encourage further investment in St Albans. I support the council’s proactive approach as this low level of vacancies can still be improved upon, and I believe the Council is doing everything they can to achieve this”.