We counted the number of empty shopping units in the heart of Leeds city centre to see if the city is recovering from years of economic turmoil for the high street.
Following the pandemic and the cost of living crisis and the rise in online shopping, we decided to visit six streets in the city centre to see how many empty units we could find. There were at least 18 empty shops, buildings, and units in the centre, out of the small sample size we picked.
Latest data shows that 17.54 per cent of street-facing retail units were empty in August 2022, according to Leeds City Council, which stated footfall was 34 per cent higher in the city centre. The local authority also outlined plans for huge empty units where Debenhams and Clarks once operated from.
