Data: The 50 worst retail locations in the UK

For the second straight year, Newcastle upon Tyne’s Shields Road in Byker propped up the Harper Dennis Hobbs’ Vitality Index 2019, which measured the health of 1,000 retail centres around the UK.

The index scored Byker Shields just 581 points out of a possible 1,000 – although this was a marked 42-point improvement on its showing last year.

The index sets out to measure the quality of retail locations by assessing shop vacancy rates, suitability for local community needs and the proportion of “undesirable” fascias, such as betting shops.

The second-worst retail area in the UK was found to be Stretford in Greater Manchester, while the third-worst was Kirkby on Merseyside.

Birmingham’s Selly Oak and Cotteridge regions finished 978th and 974th respectively, while Edinburgh’s Leith (972nd), Glasgow’s Shettleston Road (987th) and Liverpool’s Walton Road (995th) all finished in the lower echelons of the list.

Despite dominating the top 10 list of most vibrant retail locations, London was not exempt from appearing down in the lower reaches either. Forest Gate in the capital’s east finished 988th, while Archway in the city’s north came in 968th and Mitcham in the southwest finished 955th.

The biggest faller in the list was shared by Fleetwood and Swinton, which both fell 11 spots to 962nd and 967th respectively.

Speaking about the index, head of retail consultancy at Harper Dennis Hobbs Jonathan De Mello said: “The Vitality Ranking is a unique approach to assessing retail centres. By scoring centres based upon a number of aspects that both retailers and shoppers think of when they consider a quality retail environment, HDH provide a different perspective to rankings based solely on size or total sales.”