The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Vacancy Monitor showed that the overall vacancy rate in the fourth quarter last year fell to 14.4 per cent, 0.1 percentage points below the third quarter level.

It was 0.7 percentage points higher than in the same point in 2020.

Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the BRC, said: “The final quarter of 2021 offered the first glimmers of hope for Britain’s beleaguered shopping destinations, as the number of shuttered shops fell for the first time since the start of 2018.

Overall vacancy rate in the fourth quarter last year fell to 14.4 per cent.

“The lowest vacancy rates were seen in the South – where higher disposable income and greater business investment meant vacant storefronts were more quickly repurposed.

“Meanwhile, Scotland and the North continue to see much higher vacancy rates, with the Northeast at almost one in five shops closed.”

Shopping centre vacancies improved to 19.1 per cent for the fourth quarter, a 0.3 percentage point improvement on the third quarter, but 2 per cent higher than the same point in 2020. The BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor also showed that vacancies on the High Street improved slightly to 14.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, in line with the overall rate.

Retail park vacancies remained at 11.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021, making it the location with by far the lowest rate.

The impact of the Omicron variant is yet to be seen.

Ms Dickinson said: “It remains to be seen how Omicron will have impacted the number of store closures, but given the third lockdown in England had little impact on the vacancy rate, we are hopeful that the trajectory will remain positive.

“However, with hybrid working unlikely to disappear any time soon, it will be difficult for vacancy rates to fully recover in our town and city centres.

“Shuttered shops diminish the vibrancy of local high streets, costing jobs and damaging local communities.

“Business rates reform remains the most effective way of helping drive much needed investment to left-behind communities all over the UK.

“If the Government is serious about its levelling up agenda, it must ensure that a cut to the rates burden features at the centre of its forthcoming White Paper.”

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James Mitchinson

Glimmer of hope for shopping destinations as monitor shows dip in vacancy rate