London store closures hit 10-year high - as government urged to invest £5bn to save UK's high-streets
Store closures across London have hit a 10-year high, newly released figures have revealed.
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The vacancy rate for shops in all London boroughs soared to 6.2 per cent this year, compared to 1.9 per cent in areas on the outskirts of the capital.
That's according to figures from property analysts firm CoStar.
Researchers said the impacts of the pandemic have forced retail vacancy rates to surge across the country.
However, they said the hikes elsewhere were “more moderate” than those experienced in London.
Patrick Scanlon, senior director of market analytics at CoStar, said the group’s findings suggest Sadiq Khan's expansion of the Ulez may sapped demand for retail space.
Read more: UK retail sales slump in May after ‘dismal’ month for supermarkets
He argued the effects of Ulez may be a “short-term problem” as more drivers will gradually switch their older cars for newer ones.
“The question is how much more vacancy we’re going to see because of the Ulez expansion. Investors will tend not to want to buy into areas with systemic high vacancy, so there are implications. Attracting investors might become difficult,” he warned.
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said that a Transport for London and Greater London Authority report found the Ulez expansion “has not impacted footfall or retail and leisure spending in either outer London or London as a whole”.
“Recent data shows that Ulez works, driving down levels of pollution and bringing cleaner air to all Londoners.
“With 97.1pc of vehicles seen driving in London now Ulez compliant, the data also shows that Londoners have continued to upgrade their vehicles to cleaner models,” the spokesman told the Telegraph.
Meanwhile, a study by the Centre for Cities think tank found that one in 12 high street units is empty in the centre of London and Cambridge.
It called on the government to "recognise city centres as critical national infrastructure" and "allocate £5 billion of its £113 billion of earmarked capital investments into those centres that have a strategy for public investment".
"This money should focus on remodelling city centres to remove surplus space, improve the public realm and build new office space," its report states.
Last month, a consortium of retailers warned "flagship" high streets, including London's Oxford Street, are at risk without urgent national action on crime.
Once seen as a major shopping destination, and one of the busiest high streets in Europe, Oxford Street has struggled in recent years - becoming better known for phone snatching and sweet shops.
High Streets UK, a group that represents 5,000 UK businesses, is calling for ring-fenced funding for police to protect key shopping destinations.