Vacancy levels doubled during the first half of 2009, but the rate of increase slowed to 24 per cent during the second half of the year, leaving 12.4 per cent of all the UK’s town centre shops empty.
Wolverhampton has the dubious honour of being the worst-performing major centre with a 23.9 per cent vacancy rate. Bradford, Middlesbrough and Sheffield follow closely behind. And Margate in Kent heads the hall of shame among smaller centres with 27.2 per cent of its shops vacant.
Conversely central London has held up well, staying around the national average, while some suburban centres – around Uxbridge and Essex – have dipped below 10 per cent, signalling hopes that the worst is now over.
According to LDC’s survey of over 700 town centres, overall shop vacancy has very nearly doubled in England and Wales since the end of 2008. All regions saw a jump in vacancy reflected in the 2009 mid-year figures, but these rates have moderated significantly in this survey. The northern regions show the highest vacancy rates, with the North East particularly badly hit at 14 per cent . The South and East, including London, saw a 33 per cent  increase in vacancy rates in the second half of 2009, with average vacancy at just around nine per cent .
In total, vacancy rates across the South and East have increased 190 per cent  since the peak of the market in September 2007. In the Midlands, the second half of 2009 saw a 46 per cent  rise in vacancies while Wales and the South West saw an 18 per cent  rise over the same period, with the average now just below 10 per cent  in the South West.
BPF chief executive Liz Peace said: “The fact of the matter is that Brits now do a lot more shopping over the web, so we’re seeing a fundamental reshaping of high streets.
“The next government will need to balance cuts in spending with ideas for reinvigorating regions that have suffered from years of underinvestment. This doesn’t mean simply building more shops, but a thorough re-evaluation of what we need and how we take existing empty properties and use them for other things.
“We must encourage councils to make it easier for people to convert shops and people must accept that we won’t go back to the high streets of yesteryear.”
Reacting to The Local Data Company’s figures, the British Retail Consortium said many of the problems of town centres have more fundamental causes than simply the economic slowdown and recovery alone will not overcome them.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “It’s good to see closure rates now slowing in some towns though a lot of our high streets are in a bad way after the recession.
“High street shops are often battling big bills for business rates and rents, parking and access difficulties, as well as failure to manage and invest in the area.
“High streets are the heart of local communities and economies – providing jobs and essential services. Their future success cannot be left to chance. Town centres need to be actively managed by local authorities with their retailers, other businesses and residents,” he concluded.

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