York judged to be one of the UK’s poorest performing cities for high street decline

YORK HAS been named as one of the worst places in the UK for the decline of its high streets.

Analysis of the closure rate of cash machines, bank branches, retail stores and ONS percentage growth showed the Yorkshire city to be the seventh worst nationally, with Sheffield named the 10th worst. Conversely, Huddersfield and Hull were named as among the best performing, listed by website Asktraders as being second and fourth respectively.

Nationally, Poole and Blackpool were rated the worst for declining high streets.

During 2019, York recorded a minus 5 per cent retail growth, with 32 per cent of its bank branches having closed since 2015.

Sheffield managed just 1 per cent retail growth in 2019 with 46 per cent of its bank branches shutting in four years.

Steve Miley, senior market analyst at AskTraders, said: “The UK high street has been weathering tough trading conditions with many UK retailers dropping by the wayside.

“Traditional retail store closures are on the up as businesses grapple with a weak consumer in the face of Brexit uncertainty, the unabated rise of e-commerce, higher costs and changing tastes.

“There are, inevitably, going to be winners and losers.

“High street retailers with inflexible business models that have failed to adapt to their changing environment are and will be the most noticeable casualties.

“Big names have just vanished from our high street and there will certainly be more to come.

“The challenges that the high street is facing aren’t going anywhere fast. This will be a case of survival of the fittest.

“Those retailers that can evolve whilst still giving their customers exactly what they want could have a lot to gain.”

More than 1,100 bank branches have been closed in the UK since January 2018.