Empty retail space increased in Norwich city centre in 2023

In 2023, high streets across the country lost shops from several major chains including Wilko, Monsoon, Accessorize and Argos.

St Stephens Street and Red Lion Street in particular have changed during the last decade, where high street giants BHS and Debenhams closed.

The former Wilko and Debenhams stores remain closed on St Stephens Street (Image: Newsquest)

Norwich City Council's most recent data shows that available retail space in the city centre has increased from 12.2pc in October 2022 to 15.9pc last October.

However, only 12.3pc of retail units in Norwich were empty in October 2023, a 0.3pc improvement on the previous year.

This bucks the national trend, which stands at 15.3pc.

The former Shoezone and Patisserie Valerie stores remain empty (Image: Newsquest)

Leader of the Labour-led city council, Mike Stonard, said: "Norwich continues to be a vibrant exciting place to live which is attractive to businesses and has recovered well from the pandemic.

"Our most recent report shows that although actual retail space vacancies have increased, overall occupancy is up which bucks the national trend. 

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"This means that organisations in Norwich are adapting to a changing environment in a positive way and I have confidence that this will continue to be the case."

Moya Bubble Tea and Greggs have both found success in the city centre in recent years (Image: Newsquest)

The loss of high street retail outlets has brought a rise in bakery chains and bubble tea shops, with Greggs moving to bigger premises in White Lion Street and Moya Bubble Tea opening in Brigg Street.

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Professor Joshua Bamfield is director of the Norwich-based Centre for Retail Research. He said: "The retail parks in Norwich have been doing well.

"Chantry Place has been very successful in bringing in new retail companies and it always looks busy, while Castle Quarter is focusing a lot more on entertainment, hobbies and escape rooms while maintaining its mix of large and smaller stores. 

"We have seen a growth in new cafes offering food and somewhere to sit, though fashion retailers are still struggling. This is the same pattern we see all across the country."