A COUNCIL has been accused of failing town centre retailers after figures showed far more stores were closing than opening.

The annual report by the Local Data Company (LDC) into the health of British high streets showed Darlington had the highest net reduction of any area in the North-East.

Last year 24 stores closed and nine opened, a net reduction of minus 15, with Sunderland performing next worst with 29 closures and 16 openings.

The figures are a blow for Darlington Borough Council which has adopted various strategies to improve the health of the town centre, but has faced sustained criticism in some quarters.

Conservative Councillor Charles Johnson said: “It is clear Labour’s policies on the town centre have been proved decisively to have failed.”

Darlington’s chagrin contrasted with neighbouring Stockton whose council trumpeted the fact that it was the only town in the North-East experiencing a positive net change in its retail offering last year.

There seven shops opened with six closing. Overall 116 shops opened in the North-East and 216 closed, meaning 100 were lost.

Bishop Auckland, Durham and Redcar also suffered net reductions, according to the LDC analysis which was commissioned by PwC.

The LDC said store openings nationally fell to their lowest level in seven years in 2017 with an average of 16 high street stores closing every day - a total over the year of 5,855 - while an average of 11 opened.

Stores seemingly bucking the downward trend, included beauty product shops, coffee shops and those selling vaping products.

Councillor Nick Wallis, Darlington Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for leisure and the environment, who is also a member of the town centre board, said: “We recognise the challenge of maintaining a strong town centre and have recently agreed further funding to support it.

“The statistics quoted are one measure of a town centre, but it is the overall picture that is important, not changes at the margin.

“Overall occupancy rates remain relatively steady, at around 90 per cent.

“But we are not complacent and continue to work with businesses to promote the town centre. Our business rates relief scheme is proving popular, with much interest.

“New and significant retailers are opening, including in the recently vacated TKMaxx premises, which is now fully occupied, while the former BHS store is also under renovation.

“The overall offer and vibrancy of a town centre is the ultimate measure and Darlington continues to face this challenge head on.”

Councillor Bob Cook, leader of Stockton Borough Council, said: “The report makes really encouraging reading, though we’re certainly not getting carried away. We know town centres are under great strain due to tough economic conditions and the popularity of online and out of town shopping.

“That’s why our regeneration of the High Street has been about delivering a town centre that offers different things. It’s been as much about hosting events, celebrating heritage and creating pleasant spaces as it has been about shopping.

“Council-led projects like the Globe [theatre] restoration and new Hampton by Hilton [hotel] are key to that and will attract the kind of visitor spending that will take things to the next level.”

Cllr Cook warned that it was easy for people to have a pop at town centres, but when it came to shops it was very much a case of “use them or lose them”.

He also highlighted absent owners who had a “stranglehold” on empty units and were frequently quoting “astronomical” sums in order to sell or rent retail space.

North-East-based retail consultant Graham Soult praised council investment aimed at transforming the town centre and what he described as fantastic, very marketing-savvy independent retailers.

He said: “There are still issues [in Stockton] – there are some longstanding voids and New Look is about to leave – but the transformation of the town compared to when I first visited in 2009 is remarkable.”

Bill MacLeod, a senior partner in PwC’s Newcastle office, said the North-East had seen a significant shift in the number of stores opening and closing and this year promised to be equally challenging with a number of high profile retailers already experiencing difficulties.

He said: “Those retailers who will fair better...provide an offering that only meets the needs of the high street shopper, but at the same time competes with the online retailer.”