Liverpool sees fall in shop vacancies
LIVERPOOL saw a fall in the number of vacant shops last year, bucking the national trend.
Despite high street failures in the last 12 months including Jessops, JJB Sports and HMV, Liverpool daw vacancy rates in 841 units surveyed fall from 13.5% to 12.7%.
Although 32 units became vacant as businesses closed, another 41 were filled with newcomers. More than half, 54% of the new arrivals were new to the city, while 14% had previously not had a unit in the region.
And at the Liverpool ONE shopping centre- which had 26 million visits in 2012 – 99% of the 160 shops are occupied.
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Mayor Joe Anderson said: “The city centre is the driver for Liverpool’s economy and it is pleasing that it continues to thrive despite the tough economic conditions.
“It is vital that we do all we can to attract further investment and organise events which give people a reason to visit Liverpool.”
New developments recently completed, or due to complete this year, include: the new Adagio Apart Hotel in the former Lewis’s building; Forever 21 opening a new £20m store on Church Street; Marks and Spencer investing £5m in upgrading its strore and a £5m extension to River Island.
Ged Gibbons, chief operating officer for City Central BID, which represents more than 630 businesses in the retail heart of Liverpool said: “It speaks volumes that the retail sector is continuing to invest during a recession to a level that few cities in the UK and Europe can match.
“Liverpool’s appeal to both investors and visitors alike still has huge potential as a job creator and we must continue to nurture and develop that over the next 10 years.’’
Both St John’s Shopping Centre and Liverpool ONE both saw an increase in visitors, and there was a 10.3 percent rise in bus passengers, and car park use was up 1.7%.
Interestingly overall footfall fell 6.51% on the year before, which the city was due to a combination of wet weather, the economic climate and the temporary closure of Liverpool Central station for refurbishment.
