City streets littered with empty shops as more stores close

A stone’s throw from the seafront and a short walk from the railway station, it was once one of the city’s most sought-after retail spaces.

But it is now home to a string of empty shops.

And it is not the only part of the city where this is the case.

Other central shopping streets have many apparently abandoned shops.

This week The Argus also walked along Western Road, London Road and through North Laine to see the extent of the problem.

Many shops have bars across their fronts while others have windows blocked up or filled in with grey paint.

In some cases a mess of scribbled graffiti tags cover the buildings.

Other shops had eye-catching signs in their windows declaring they were holding a “clearance sale”.

“Everything must go,” another advertised.

In Duke Street the situation was most evident.

The street still has about 15 vibrant, colourful stores.

But scattered among them The Argus counted ten empty lots.

A sign in the former Hotel Chocolat store says the business has moved to North Street, while the site of record Store Vinyl Revolution is still empty after being forced to shut down in July.

Owners Simon Parker and Rachel Lowe blamed the closure on the chaos caused by Brexit, £22,000 in business rates and high rent.

Mr Parker said “the UK retail industry is in crisis” and highlighted the plight of independent businesses.

Even in the city’s tourist hotspots and best-loved shopping areas, visitors are faced with vacant shops.

Once a Brighton institution, Choccywoccydoodah in The Lanes remains dark five months after its shock closure with an explanatory sign still stuck to the inside of its window.

Brighton Books in the North Laine area of the city, described by tourism guide Visit Brighton as “boasting the largest selection of independent retailers on the South Coast” is also empty.

It is the same story at two other stores in the same street, Kensington Gardens.

Mr Parker said “immediate and meaningful action must be taken to save independent retail”.

But established brands are not immune from the decline.

Churchill Square announced this month the Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins stores in the shopping centre would all be closing their doors for the final time on October 26.

Italian fashion brand Calzedonia and lingerie store Intimissimi have already shut.

Walking down Western Road The Argus counted a further 13 stores were empty.

Further from the city centre, the situation did not change.

London Road had 47 stores open, with several charity and pawn shops making up this number, but a further 13 sites were empty.

A former pharmacist, supermarket, pet shop, bargain store, electrical suppliers and barbers were among those to be unoccupied.

These included the Boots and Co-op stores which closed during the last two months to make way for student accommodation.

Asked what was being done to help high street stores, Brighton and Hove City Council directed The Argus to its Economic Strategy for 2018 to 2023, which it adopted in December 2018.

It states that it will “support the evolution of the city and city region as one of the UK’s most productive and inclusive economies”.

The plan proposes to build on the city’s “considerable strengths” to “establish it as one of the UK’s most economically vibrant, inclusive and future-facing cities” and allow it to “act as a trailblazer for economic and social change and improvement in the UK and globally”.

It intends to do this through “five themes for action; growing, open, talented, fair and sustainable”.

The council says “growing” will “unlock stalled development sites through investment partnerships with Government and regional partners. “Open” will form a “new city region trade and invest team”.

The “talented” theme for action will see a “city skills for productivity commission” created.

“Fair” looks to “develop long-term community capacity and citizen leadership” and “sustainable” seeks to “promote the development of a circular and sustainable economy to minimise waste and pollution by reducing, reusing and recycling.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it recognised changing consumer behaviour and the rise of online shopping presented a significant challenge and so had “taken measures” to help stores evolve.

It said the Government has introduced a range of business rates reforms and measures worth over £13 billion by 2023, including cutting small retailers’ rates bills by a third in the last Budget.