Empty shops hauls town down UK league table

More than 100 units lying vacant around centre

Nearly a quarter of shops in Ayr are standing empty, one of the worst rates in BRITAIN.

The town had one of the highest shop vacancy rates in Britain in 2016, with 22.9% of shops standing empty.

That had risen more than 3%, up from 19.2%, from the year before.

The survey follows Ayrshire Post research which found more than 100 empty units.

Across Scotland, just 11.9% of premises were empty in 2016.

The run- up to Brexit saw an increase in the number of shops closing, according to the latest report from the Local Data Company ( LDC), reaching a peak of 3,015 closures in June, a net loss of 570 shops.

However, the final quarter of the year, saw more shops opening thanclosing, with the LDC saying the positive trend has continued into 2017.

Overall, 2016 saw a net loss of 1,650 shops which equates to just under five a day.

England has the lowest national vacancy rate at 11.0%, followed by Scotland at 11.9% and Wales at 15.2%.

Shopping Centres continue to improve most in vacancy ( 14.8% to 13.2%) followed by Retail Parks ( 6.6% to 5.7%) and Town Centres ( 11.7% to 11.2%).

London is the only region to have lost in numbers of independent shops and the only one to gain in numbers of chain stores over the past half- decade.

Comparison goods stores selling finished non- food products continue to fall in numbers and in the five years since 2012 have dropped in number by 9,490 units – split between multiples and independents.

Food & beverage chains and independent leisure operators have driven significant growth across the year, gaining 816 outlets net, with

Coffee Shops topping the multiples’ table and personal services such as Barbers heading the independents’ league with 482 net openings.