The challenges facing the retail sector in the North have been brought home after Newcastle’s Shields Road retained its title as the worst high street in Britain.
The Byker street came in bottom of a list of 1,000 retail destinations in the 2019 Retail Vitality Rankings, published by retail consultancy Harper Dennis Hobbs.
The index ranks high streets using a string of factors, such as the number of upmarket stores, discount retailers, pawnbrokers, and empty shops.
Residents and businesses of Shields Roads were appalled when the high street first received bottom ranking in 2017, and called for “urgent action” to change its reputation.
But despite almost two years passing, Shields Road has failed to improve its ranking.
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “This is a disappointing finding for what is a well-used high street in a busy part of the city, providing vital amenities for a lot of our residents.
“We acknowledge there is room for improvement and we have already started the process of engaging with traders and key stakeholders to work together collaboratively and identify measures that could give the area a collective boost.”
While Shields Road was named as the UK’s least vital shopping destination, it was followed closely by Stretford in Greater Manchester, and Kirkby in Merseyside.
Gateshead also ranked low on the list coming in at 994. This is the same ranking given to the area in the 2017 report.
A spokeswoman for Gateshead Council said: “Our recent town centre survey received 3,000 responses evidencing both concern and just how much residents and users care about the future of our Town Centre. We will have invested £1m in High Street this year and have submitted an ambitious yet deliverable bid to the Future High Street Fund to help secure external funding and accelerate the transformation that we all want to see.
“The council has an ambitious, long-term plan for the future of the borough. The scale of which is captured in our investment programme which includes central Gateshead, the £250m Gateshead Quays scheme, further development of Baltic Quarter, and transforming the area around the intu Metrocentre.”
The council said that the development of the town centre would be supported through Gateshead’s selection as one of five areas in the Future Places Programme, which attempts to attract investors to local areas that have strong regeneration plans.
Yarm was named as the North East’s best retail centre, coming in at 65th in the index. It was closely followed by the Metrocentre (71st), Newcastle City Centre (85th), Morpeth (150th) and Durham (195th).
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Peterlee, Blyth and Seaham scored low in the index with rankings of 932, 912, and 878 respectively.
Despite Shields Road and Gateshead being named as some of the country’s least desirable shopping areas, the North East was not the worst ranked region overall. Out of the 40 different areas considered in the study, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear came 23rd, while Tees Valley and Durham ranked 29th.
Merseyside was named at the bottom of the list while Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire was top.
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London contain some of the best shopping destinations in the country, with seven of the top 10 areas located in the capital.
Jonathan De Mello, head of retail consultancy at Harper Dennis Hobbs, said: “The changing face of the high street means retailers need to be confident their investment is likely to pay off. Quality retailers don’t want to be surrounded by empty units, discount stores and betting shops, which are a clear indicator of deprivation in the area.
“While the big cities and most prominent shopping malls should absolutely be a key priority for any retailer trading in the UK, this research highlights the fact that small but flourishing towns and suburbs can be viable retail locations, particularly as rents are typically more affordable.”
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