Harper Dennis Hobbs (HDH), an independent real estate consultancy has launched “The Vitality Index”, ranking the top 500 British retail centres by scoring the quality of the retail offer, rather than merely the size. In their list of 500 Town Centres, Llanelli comes in at 499!
That means that only Dudley Town Centre is ranked worst in Uk than Llanelli!
The index aims to provide a quarterly benchmark for occupiers and investors of which centres are getting it right and which need to improve. Expected strong performers such as Westfield London, Chelsea and Knightsbridge feature highly in the ranking in terms of ‘vitality’ alongside what HDH describe as “small but vibrant centres” such as Richmond, Islington, Beverley and Chiswick.
Jonathan De Mello, head of retail consultancy at HDH, said: “This is the first ever retail ranking for Great Britain to incorporate ‘vitality’, taking into account the quality of retail provision in a centre. We will be releasing this research quarterly to track changes in the rankings and indicate which centres are improving and which are falling further into decline”
For the full index click here.
However, the County Council are hitting back at the survey with Meryl Gravell, Carmarthenshire Council executive board member for regeneration, insisting that better news was on the way for Llanelli.
She said:
“More than £60 million had been invested in Llanelli Town Centre in the last three years, she said, including delivering the £26 million East Gate quarter.”
“There are already signs that the town’s fortunes of attracting new investors and retail outlets is turning about,” she added.
“We will continue to explore ways to make our towns more vibrant and attractive to investors and customers and are pleased with the steady progress that is being made to regenerate Llanelli.
“We look forward to seeing Llanelli rising up the rankings as new offers and attractions appear on the high street.”
In the past, Llanelli has been voted the number place for porn searches in Wales and also the number one hotspot for Mephedrone.
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