WALKING around the town centre, huge gaps are beginning to appear from the empty unit that once housed flagship store Debenhams, to the opulent shell of the former Lloyds Bank.

Whilst the town is still famed as a shopping destination, as many as 50 retail units currently lie empty, boarded up and covered in dust.

During the coronavirus pandemic, a series of lockdowns have seen the majority of shops forced to close for months at a time, contributing to an incredibly challenging retail environment.

In the space of just a year, Topshop, Debenhams, Laura Ashley, Zara and Monsoon Accessorize stores had confirmed their permanent closure in Festival Place.

The top of town also face a similar crisis with British Heart Foundation, RSPCA and Greggs all now closed alongside many independently run businesses.

Local business owner Kishor Patel, who owns, Surya's International Food on Church Street, told the Gazette: “We are a family business and we’ve been here for three years. During Covid we had hardly any trade and the last 18 months have been really difficult.”

“The shop next door is closed the shop across the road is closed and if the council increase the rent then we will have to close and they will have an empty shop.

“What happens then is there is a spiral effect and less shops means less people coming into town.”

Almost 50 chain stores per day closed down on British high streets, retail parks and shopping centres in the first half of the year, according to research.

Figures collected by the Local Data Company showed 8,739 shops shut across Britain in the first half of the year. With 3,488 opening in the same period, reflecting a net decrease of 5,251.

Fashion retailers were worst affected, with 1,063 stores closing in the first half of the year, ahead of charity shops with 452 closures, car and motorbike outlets (428) and betting shops (337).

City centres were hit the most severely as people and businesses moved more to suburban or out-of-town locations, reflecting the rise in working from home. City centres suffered a 4.3 per cent drop in their number of retail outlets, compared with a 3 per cent decrease for commuter towns and a 2.3 per cent decline in villages.