Nearly one in every ten shops in the heart of a leading shopping quarter is empty, according to a new survey.
Up to now the North Laine area of Brighton has coped well with the economic slump.
But new research by the city’s Business Forum has revealed that the vacancy rate rose at the turn of the year as shops and businesses were forced to close.
In March, 8.2% of properties were empty – up from 5% in October.
While still well below the national average of 12.8%, the decline is a worrying trend, with consumer spending low despite the recession ending earlier this year.
In contrast, the vacancy rate of The Lanes fell from 5% to just 2.2% in the same period.
Overall the city’s vacancy rate is 8.8% but in the worst performing areas such as Preston Street it is nearly 19%.
Parts of the North Laine are performing better than others, with streets such as Church Street, Gloucester Road, North Road and Trafalgar Street having a vacancy rate of 10%.
Dan Curtis, co-owner of Red Mutha in Trafalgar Street, said that, even on a good Saturday, his takings are about half what they were when the shop opened two years ago.
He said only eBay sales kept the business going through the difficult winter months.
Mr Curtis said: “It is incredibly difficult. You see places coming and going all the time.”
He called for better signage around the city to promote his part of the North Laine.
Anna Freeland, of Colourfast Print Shop in Cheltenham Place, said: “The amount of customers coming in is still high but they are not spending as much. Money is a big issue for people at the moment.”
The Open House festival has not given the same boost to sales as previous years, Ms Freeland added.
She said: “We would usually take thousands but it’s nowhere near that.
There doesn’t seem to be as many people getting involved by doing open houses and things like that.”
Steve Pybus has owned Dirty Harry in Sydney Street for 12 years and said business had “never been better”.
But he warned: “I sell secondhand, vintage clothing. I used to be the only place but now there are 11 other shops around the area. We need fresh businesses because if you have so many doing the same then someone will suffer.”
Sharon Thomas is the owner of the Offbeat café in Sydney Street and chairwoman of the North Laine Traders’ Association.
She said regular customers kept her going over a “bleak winter” but the good weather of recent weeks has seen visitor numbers soar.
A shop next door to the café closed recently but Ms Thomas said the owner shut to pursue other business interests rather than because trade was poor.”
Preston Street used to be filled with restaurants but many have been victims of the recession.
Brighton city centre manager Soozie Campbell said: “We were alarmed when the vacancy rate was 13% but now it is 18.8% and still rising.”
The Business Forum is discussing ways to improve the area and one solution is to convert some of the empty shops into offices for the city’s digital media sector.
Ms Campbell said the success of The Lanes was down to national chains such as Links, All Saints and Jezebel.
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