UK high streets continue to decline, with one in five shops tenantless across Kent, the Midlands and the North East.

UK high streets continue to decline, with one in five shops tenantless across Kent, the Midlands and the North East.

Vacancies have continued to increase over the past two quarters, with 12.4 per cent of shops standing empty across England, Scotland and Wales in the second half of 2009, compared to 10 per cent in the first half of the year, according to figures from the Local Data Company (LDC).

Liz Pearce, chief executive of the British Property Federation, says internet shopping has caused a ‘fundamental reshaping of high streets’.

Adds Pearce, ‘The next government will need to balance cuts in spending with ideas for reinvigorating regions that have suffered from years of underinvestment… 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.’

The worst-hit large retail centre is Wolverhampton, with 23.9 per cent of shops empty, while the Kent seaside town of Margate tops the table of medium-sized centres with 27.2 per cent of retail units unoccupied.

However, vacancies across the UK are increasing at a slower rate than before, raising hopes that the market may soon begin to improve, claims the LDC.