A WINCHESTER business boss says the city is doing well in tough times as is a "strong location for business".

Dr Paul Spencer, executive director of Winchester Business Improvement District (BID), was speaking after the latest research indicates that, whilst shop vacancy rates were improving, footfall in February was 7 per cent down on 2022.

He said that the 7 per cent decline referred to only one month: "If we look at the whole of the first quarter of 2023 there is some variation because January was +4 per cent compared to 2022, February was -7 per cent and March was +3 per cent."

BID research was that the city was still recovering, he said. "Feedback from 81 businesses in the city centre collated for the BID’s Business Barometer during April of this year suggests that high street footfall into business premises was +9 per cent during January to March 2023 compared to the first three months of 2022.

"Clothes, fashion and shoe outlets reported the best results, while other retailers and services as well as those outlets located off of the High Street reported little or no change."

On high street vacancies, Dr Spencer said the rate in Winchester has been reducing steadily since January 2021 when it was at a peak of 12.4 per cent as the effects of the pandemic and social distancing restrictions impacted local businesses.

Vacancy rates in Winchester were now half that of the national average.

"Since then Winchester has been performing very well and this new report highlights a figure of 6.2 per cent against a national average of 13.9 per cent.

"In the current circumstances Winchester is proving itself to be a strong location for business, but of course these are still challenging times. The cost of living crisis continues to impact customer finances and significant increases in costs from suppliers continues to be a concern."