From Woolworths, Topshop and BHS to Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us, we’ve seen a lot of iconic British institutions disappear from the high street over the last couple of decades. With the impact of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, visit a high street these days and you’d be hard pressed not to find at least one closing down sale.
After 400 Wilkos shut their doors (don’t worry, some are now coming back), researchers at TradingPedia decided to find out which towns across the UK have been worst hit by high-street closures.
Of course, big cities like London and Bristol have had the most closures overall, but they’ve also got new places opening all the time, so don’t feel as much of an impact. Those that have suffered the most have been towns with the most closures in relation to their population, as there’s only a handful of businesses that residents can shop and work at.
Taking all this into consideration, TradingPedia found that Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent has been the worst hit by shop closures. In 2023, the town of 50,000 lost five high-street stores, which is the same as 9.76 closures per 100,000 residents.
Torquay in Devon ranked second with 9.61 closures per 100,000 residents in 2023 while Ellesmere Port in Cheshire came third with an average of 7.64. Completing the top five worst affected were Bognor Regis in West Sussex and Norwich.
Here are the top ten areas worst affected by high-street closures, according to TradingPedia.
- Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
- Torquay, Devon
- Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
- Bognor Regis, West Sussex
- Norwich, Norfolk
- Birkenhead, Merseyside
- Exeter, Devon
- Ipswich, Suffolk
- Bristol
- Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Time Out and the retail world
We’re all about sharing the latest updates on city life in the UK, and that includes all the movements going on on our high streets. For all the info on the store closures happening this year, take a look at our extensive guide to all the brands shutting shops across the country here.
Did you see that Wilko will return to UK high streets by the end of the year?
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