Should we be worried about the number of empty shops in Chester city centre?

Indeed, a number of concerned Standard readers have been in touch over recent weeks to say there now appear to be more than ever.

Our photographer and reporter counted at least 31 empty retail units in the city centre – Northgate, Eastgate, Watergate, Foregate, Bridge, Frodsham and Grosvenor streets.

Those most obviously affected were Foregate Street, with eight empty retail premises, and Watergate Street, with six.

But are things really that bleak? We checked the city’s latest standing in the league table of 1,000 UK retail centres and spoke to CH1ChesterBID, Chester Business Club and Cheshire West and Chester Council about the issue.

Retail specialist Harper Dennis Hobbs compiled its latest ‘Vitality Index’ of centres across Britain in June 2017.

Rather than just focus on size, it looks at the ‘retail health’ of each location and measures them through: the proportion of up-market shops; the proportion of value-led shops; the vacancy rate; and the proportion of ‘undesirable’ shops such as pawnbrokers, money lenders and betting shops.

In 2014 Chester was ranked 25th but in 2017 it had dropped to 43rd. Top was Cambridge followed by Westfield London and Knightsbridge.

So there has been a slip but this is hardly the disastrous picture of the city’s retail offering painted by some local doom-mongers.

Forty-third out of 1,000 sounds like an impressive result and the city beat both York and Liverpool, which were ranked 46th and 47th respectively.

Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID, accepted that Chester does have empty shop units like all towns and cities across the country but had a positive outlook on the city’s future.

The Business Improvement District (BID) group, which represents around 500 city centre businesses, regularly monitors vacancy rates to ensure trends can be identified and action taken, he said.

“Over the past two years Chester’s vacancy rate has remained pretty consistent,” Mr Critchlow said.

“We've recently welcomed the likes of Crew Clothing and Crêpeaffaire to Chester and we've seen shops like the Disney Store and HMV relocate to the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, so it’s not uncommon to see empty units on the high street as businesses move to more suitable premises or as leases come to an end.”

He added: "Along with our city centre partners, we're working hard to position Chester as a great destination for visitors and a place where any business – from large retailers to small independents – would want to be based.

“Changing consumer habits and the growth of online shopping is altering the face of the high street with businesses having to adapt to meet the needs of shoppers, so it’s important we offer all the support we can.”

Examples of support include the group’s ‘procurement initiative’, which is designed to help traders secure cheaper rates on their energy and waste disposal bills.

Mr Critchlow added: “Savings on things like that can make a big difference – especially to an independent or start-up business – so we're continuing to do everything we can to offer our support wherever we can."

The group also holds regular meetings with the council's planning team to keep a close eye on new businesses coming to the city and change of premises use applications.

Bob Clough-Parker, secretary of Chester Business Club, described a number of ongoing issues impacting on the city’s prowess as a retail centre.

“First and foremost, there has been nothing short of a revolution in retail with so many people now shopping online,” he said.

“Then there is the perception that Chester is a difficult place to get into and out of and the issue of parking, which has been a problem for some time. It’s easy to see why people might choose to go to out-of-town centres like Broughton or Cheshire Oaks which have masses of free parking.

“Put all this together and it really highlights the problems a city like Chester has.”

Mr Clough-Parker accepted that there are now “gaps where there didn’t use to be gaps” on the city centre streets and pointed towards the £300 million Northgate retail scheme as a possible solution.

“It could change things but even if they turned the first sod today it’s still a good few years away,” he said.

The reported financial difficulties of the Northgate development’s retail anchor, House of Fraser, and the very real challenges facing the recent Barons Quay development in Northwich were also cause for concern, he said.

A successful Northgate scheme may also just have the effect of changing the “centre of gravity” of Chester’s retail offering, he said.

“The successful development of the Northgate project, assuming it is successful, could just mean we see existing retailers move from one part of the city centre to another, leaving further gaps.”

Indeed, recent revelations that H&M, Top Shop and New Look are in talks to occupy stores in the Northgate site could mean they leave their current locations in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre and Eastgate Street.

And what of the smaller, independent businesses?

“If you look back 30 or 40 years Chester had predominantly family-run businesses and independent traders, which is what the city built its reputation on,” said Mr Clough-Parker. “There are very few of them left now.

“The rent are still high in the city and therefore so are the rates. It’s a difficult equation for anyone thinking of coming here as an independent retailer.

“The times they are a-changin’.”

Cllr Samantha Dixon, council leader, said visitors continued to come to the city in large numbers and cited a list of positive developments.

She said it was precisely because of changing consumer habits that the council needs to bring forward the Northgate scheme. 

"It is really important to note that Chester Northgate is not just a retail scheme; in fact half of the units are currently intended to be for retail," Cllr Dixon said. 

“An exciting new market, new restaurants, a six-screen cinema, a new Crowne Plaza hotel and up to 120 new residential properties, are a huge part of this unique scheme that also includes the fantastic new Storyhouse cultural centre which opened in May.  

“Contrary to concerns, shoppers and visitor numbers in Chester remain consistently strong and Storyhouse has welcomed over 500,000 visitors in its first seven months and the new library has been hugely successful with more people joining than ever before.  

"The new bus station and improvements to Frodsham Street are all part of a wider regeneration programme for Chester to make it easier to get in and out, and it is all designed to link together with the Northgate scheme.

“We continue to monitor the retail market closely and we accept that times are changing, so we are embracing that. Chester Northgate is ambitious and designed to be in keeping with changing times.

“If we did nothing and lacked ambition for the city, we will begin to lose out to neighbouring towns and cities.  Instead this council is committed to ensuring we have a well-connected, accessible borough that is a great place to do business with a first-class, inclusive leisure, heritage and cultural offer making it a great place to live, study and visit.

“Smaller businesses will also benefit from increased footfall such as the cafés and restaurants in Hunter's Walk and around Chester Northgate's new public square.

“Chester will receive a huge economic boost that will have a positive impact on the whole borough, meaning more jobs, more housing and a better visitor experience, ensuring that we remain a fantastic retail and visitor destination.”