BASINGSTOKE town centre is in rude health with the number of vacant store units falling steadily and visitor numbers up.

That is the verdict of a borough council report which shows the number of empty shops in the Top of The Town has fallen from 10 per cent in 2013 to 7 per cent in 2017, while just two out of 26 units are vacant in The Malls, around a 7.6 per cent vacancy rate.

The report, due to be presented at a meeting last night, notes while Festival Place does not provide vacancy data, more lettings have been seen in 2017 to bring the figure down.

This is compared to the south east average of 7.2 per cent and the national average of 11 per cent.

The borough council lays the success at the door of the Town Centre Programme, which has been running since 2015 to provide interventions such as events and the Shop Front grant scheme, as well as fostering partnership working, such as with the Basingstoke Together Business Improvement District.

Councillor Terri Reid, cabinet member for housing, regeneration and arts and heritage, said: “Despite the fact there’s often a feeling of doom and gloom around shopping centres and town centres, this is a really exciting story to tell.

“The town centre programme has played a real role, particularly in the Top of The Town which, as an older style part of the town, needs different kinds of attention such as hosting events there.

“It is really coming together. It was a big piece of work which you do for years at first and now it is really coming through and you can see the difference.

“But we have got to keep going - the town centre is a priority and so that investment needs to continue.”

The paper also notes the Going Shopping 2018 report, which ranks UK shopping centres, placed Festival Place at 20th for the second year in a running, the highest placed centre in the region, ahead of Reading’s The Oracle and Bracknell’s The Lexion, ranked 32nd and 33rd respectively.

Festival Place saw a 1.4 per cent increase in footfall in 2017, up to 22.4m.

The council report also notes the average number of stalls at Basingstoke market has increased from seven in 2014 to 15.5 in 2016/17 with that number expected to remain stable for 2017/18.