Data: The worst 50 retail centres in the UK

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’s Shields Road in Byker propped up the Harper Dennis Hobbs’ 2017 Vitality Index, which measured the health of 1,000 retail centres.

The index scored Byker Shields just 539 points out of a possible 1,000.

It sets out to measure the quality of retail locations by assessing shop vacancy rate, its suitability for the needs of the local community and the proportion of ‘undesirable’ shops.

According to Harper Dennis Hobbs’ research, almost a fifth of retail floorspace in the area is unused – representing an 11% increase in vacant space in the past five years.

The retail mix on Shields Road is dominated by ‘undesirable’ retail, such as betting shops and money lenders.

That proposition left it languishing 59 points behind London’s Harrow Road, which finished one place higher in 999th place.

Birmingham’s Selly Oak and Cotteridge regions finished 992nd and 974th respectively, while Edinburgh’s Leith (975th) Glasgow’s Shettleston Road (991st) and Liverpool’s Walton Road (996th) all finished in the lower echelons of the list.

“The data suggested that quality retailers are increasingly gravitating towards a few very strong shopping centres and high streets”

A number of London locations also finished in the bottom 50 with vitality scores below 700, including Mitcham, Acton, Norbury and Watney Market.

The capital’s Walworth Road was one of the biggest fallers in this year’s list, tumbling 123 places to 957th with a vitality score of 644.

Following their inaugural index back in 2014, Harper Dennis Hobbs expanded this year’s ranking to assess a total of 1,000 locations with more than 40 multiples, ranging from local high streets to regional shopping malls and major city centres.

Retail parks and outlet centres were excluded from the list, as their out of town locations mean that they are “not intrinsically linked to the local area,” Harper Dennis Hobbs said.

The data suggested that quality retailers are increasingly gravitating towards a few very strong shopping centres and high streets, at the expense of typical high streets and smaller locations. 

That has helped leave headroom for the expansion of value retailers in less desirable areas.

In the past five years, the proportion of value stores in centres has risen 2.7%, while the number of ‘undesirable’ shops has increased 1.6%.