Central London is the worst affected place in the country by COVID-19’s economic impact, losing 47 weeks of sales between the first lockdown and Omicron’s onset.
This is according to Cities Outlook 2022 – Centre for Cities’ annual economic assessment of the UK’s largest urban areas.
In prosperous city centres such as London, lost sales are linked to an increase in business closures. In Central London city centre the number of empty storefronts increased by around 3.9 percentage points as sales fell.
Burnley’s city centre lost the fewest weeks of sales (eight weeks) in the country during the pandemic.
Nationally, COVID-19 has cost businesses in city and large town centres more than a third (35 percent) of their potential takings since March 2020, with central Birmingham, Edinburgh and Cardiff also badly affected.
Across the 52 city and town centres studied, 2426 commercial units have become vacant during the pandemic, against 1374 between 2018 and 2020.
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High streets in economically weaker places have been less impacted by Covid-19. Meanwhile in economically stronger places, business closures increased during the pandemic.
This suggests that the Government’s COVID-19 support successfully stalled the decline of many struggling high streets but was less effective in economically stronger places due to higher rents and a lack of custom from office workers.
While stronger city centres have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic, their higher levels of affluence mean that, if restrictions end and office workers return, they will likely recover quickly.
Meanwhile, while government support has sheltered weaker places, it may have simply stored up pain for the future. The report warns that many less prosperous places in the country face a wave of new business closures this year.
Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said: “While the pandemic has been a tough time for all high streets it has levelled down more prosperous cities and towns. Despite this, the strength of their wider local economies means they are well placed to recover quickly from the past two years.”
“The bigger concern is for economically weaker places – primarily in the North and Midlands – where COVID-19 has actually paused their long-term decline. To help them avoid a wave of high street closures this year the Government must set out how it plans to increase peoples’ skills and pay to give them the income needed to sustain a thriving high street.
“Many of these places are in the so-called Red Wall so there is a political imperative for the Government to act fast, as well as an economic one.”
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