News · 28 May 2026
Midlands shopping centres have many empty shops.
Unsplash / Igor Karimov
Vacant shops continue to be a serious issue for some UK shopping centres, creating difficulties for local businesses and communities. Research into retail vacancy rates across parts of the Midlands highlighted the scale of the problem in several town centres. Findings gathered from council and retail data showed that in some of the worst-affected areas, as many as a third of shops were standing empty.
Reported by ITV · How we write briefs