The table compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC) places Carmarthen at number 11 in the list of 13 towns and cities. The data stated that Carmarthen has a 14 per cent vacancy rate. This is compared to Swansea at 8.3 per cent, Llanelli at 16.3 per cent and Newport which tops the list with 28.8 per cent of empty shopping space.
London based LDC compiles data from 500,000 retail and leisure firms across the UK, claiming on its website to walk every shopping street in Britain every six months.
However, trade leaders in Carmarthen have refuted the figures claiming they do not give a true reflection of the town. According to a town map guide with an index of businesses — produced by Carmarthenshire Council, the town council and shopping centres Merlin’s Walk and St Catherine’s Walk — empty shops only add up to six per cent of the total number.
This equates to just 17 being empty out of 312 premises in the guide. Manager of the St Catherine’s Walk shopping development Mike Pugh said: “The figures from LDC don’t represent the real picture in town. Of the empty shops that are here there seems to be interest from retailers moving in.
Mr Pugh, who is also a member of Carmarthen Chamber of Trade and Commerce, added: “The town is vibrant and somewhere people want to visit and shop in. At St Catherine’s Walk there are only four units empty with interest being shown by retailers and there are two restaurants also in talks.”
According to the LDC findings, town centre vacancy rates across Britain increased from 12 per cent at the end of 2009 to 14.5 per cent at the beginning of 2010.
The latest rebuttal by town leaders follows a report in September last year by the Economics Foundation (NEF) claiming Carmarthen and other towns were in danger of losing their identity with a raft of chain stores that can be found in any British town.
Specifically, the report said that the town’s Red Street made it the third worst cloned town in Wales and the 17th worst in the UK, with only 14 of the 45 shops being independent. These claims were also refuted by businesses and traders at the time.
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