A COMPREHENSIVE survey of Colchester town centre suggests its businesses are faring better than most.

A review of all 745 shops in the trading area by the Colchester Retail Business Association found 63 empty – giving it a vacancy rate far below the national average.

The survey was carried out in response to observations by visitors that the town appeared to be “dying” and concerns raised by businesses.

Ron Levy, association secretary, handed the results to Colchester mayor Sonia Lewis at a full council meeting, describing the findings as surprising.

He said: “The national average (of empty town centre shops) is 13 per cent. In Colchester it is 8.5 per cent. Only two per cent of the shops in the town are charity shops, which, from the people we spoke to, is not perceived as a concern right now.

“Colchester is faring far better than most other towns.”

In Sir Isaac’s Walk, 18.5 per cent of the shops are standing empty, while in Eld Lane a quarter are vacant, though five new businesses have opened in Eld Lane in recent months.

The survey suggests the most prosperous street to be Crouch Street West – the only one with no empty shops.

The next most thriving is St John’s Street, where two of its 40 premises are unoccupied.

However, Iain Wicks, of the north Essex branch of the Federation of Small Businesses greeted the results with caution.

He pointed to a national survey three months ago, which suggested Colchester shops had a 10.2 per cent vacancy rate – the third worst in the country.

He said: “The fact the figure has appeared to reduce is good, but I would expect a bit of a bounce this time of year, with seasonal shops opening.

“If it is a downward trend, then that is good news, but we still think for a large town such as Colchester, 8.5 per cent of shops empty is not good.

“The council still needs to pull its finger out and do something.”

The survey looked at an area bounded by Balkerne Hill to the west and Queen Street to the east, Southway to the south and the High Street to the north, plus the western part of Crouch Street, shops near Essex County Hospital and those on North Hill and in North Station Road.