West Bromwich leaders 'confident' over town's future DESPITE being in top 10 in country for empty shops

West Bromwich was placed fourth in the latest Mind the Gap report with a vacancy rate of 27.1 per cent, up 0.5 per cent on 2013.

But Ninder Johal, chairman of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, today said the landscape was changing with businesses gravitating back to the High Street.

And councillors in Sandwell said they believed the situation in West Bromwich would improve in the future.

Mr Johal said: "Whilst it is disappointing news, I am hoping the picture will change against a backdrop of an ever expanding economy, falling inflation and falling unemployment.

"The landscape is changing from a retail perspective with supermarkets now gravitating back towards the high street, so despite this news I am confident that in the long run the high street and the Black Country will continue to prosper.

"We have had a lot of money that has gone into the Black Country and particularly West Bromwich where the New Square has been a fantastic success."

Deputy leader of Sandwell Council, Councillor Steve Eling said: "There does seem to be a trend back to the High Street and I am sure West Bromwich will benefit from that.

"However I believe what this report shows most of all is a continuing north-south divide which has to be dealt with on a national level."

The report found almost one in five shops in England's northern towns and cities are empty, compared with just one in 10 in the south.

Councillor Mohinder Tagger, representative for West Bromwich Central, said: "I am confident there will be an improvement in the town in future. We will do all we can to support business in West Bromwich."

For the West Midlands as a whole the vacancy rate is up 0.2 per cent at an average of 18.2 per cent. Walsall was ninth on the list at 26.2 per cent, down 0.5 per cent.

Three Staffordshire towns - Burslem, Hanley and Stoke-upon-Trent - feature in the top 10.

The rate of shop vacancies across the UK stood at 13.3 per cent at the end of last year, down from a February 2012 peak of 14.6 per cent.

The worst regional area is the North East, with a shop vacancy rate of 18.8 percent in the second half of 2014, a fall of 0.3 per cent on a year ago. The best region is London, with a vacancy rate of 8.7 per cent after a fall of 0.4 per cent.