A new map has revealed England’s ghost towns that have been hit hardest by high street shop closures.
There are concerns about the health of English high streets(Image: No credit)
The current state of the high streets is a growing concern, with many town centres grappling with dwindling footfall and escalating costs, resulting in numerous shuttered shops.
Now research from barcodestore.uk has highlighted the high streets bearing the brunt of the crisis, by revealing the top ten areas most impacted by shop closures.
It shows that Ellesmere Port in Cheshire has been hit hardest relative to its population. The data suggests that between 2015 and 2025, 460 high street businesses permanently ceased operations.
That’s the equivalent of 75 closures for every 10,000 people who live in the area, or one closure for every 133 people.
Norwich (40 closures per 10,000 residents), Torquay (40 closures), and Warrington (35) are also among the worst-hit towns.
Using our interactive map, you can see if your hometown is included in the top 10 list of the hardest-hit high streets.
Recently, the House of Lords examined potential strategies for rejuvenating the UK’s ailing high streets.
As part of their review of business rates, the Peers suggested that the Government should consider simplifying the array of business rates relief schemes to ensure they effectively bolster successful high streets.
They added: “The Government should seek to legislate to allow markets operated by local authorities outside London access to the same level of business rates relief available to those markets operated by local authorities within London.”
The chamber said ministers should also provide funding to local authorities to maintain an ownership and occupier database for commercial properties within areas designated as high streets or major retail centres in their local plans.
It also recommended that: “The Government support local authorities to make use of the new High Street Rental Auction powers and should confirm if it will follow the pilot approach set out by the previous government.”
Local authorities require access to “appropriate expertise” to effectively manage commercial development portfolios, whilst “the Government should set out whether they intend to encourage moving more NHS health services to the high street, and, if so, how they will do so,” peers wrote.
They concluded: “New public services including libraries, diagnostic centres and local government buildings should be located on the high street in the first instance.”