More than one in five shops lie empty in some town centres in North Wales - sparking a “ghost town” warning.
Shocking figures from the Local Data Company(LDC) show the region has some of the worst performing towns in the UK when it comes to empty premises.
Bangor had a shop vacancy rate of 21.8% in the first half of 2016.
This figure was one of the worst in the UK for towns of that size, although the vacancy rate was down from 22.4% in 2015.
In Rhyl , 21.6% of shops were empty, up from 17.5% in 2015 as the seaside resort has struggled to cope after losing major chains like Marks & Spencer and Next in recent years.
The latest figures from the LDC show England has the lowest national vacancy rate at 11.3%, followed by Scotland at 12.1% and Wales at 15.1%.
John Bellis, chairman of Rhyl Business Group, said urgent action was needed before the centre became a “ghost town”.
He said: “They are placing all their hopes on the promenade improvements but we need something to happen now to support the high street.
“It is all very well having a hotel and leisure facilities but people won’t want to come if the town centre is a ghost town.
“There are so many empty units and a lot of those filled are charity shops, we need to do something to get retailers back on the high street.
“If something does not happen soon Rhyl town centre will be a ghost town.
“We are looking at setting up a Business Improvement District which is a start and we need action on rates from the next re-valuation.
“There is Marina Quay happening which is bringing in major names and can only be good for Rhyl, but we need more.
“In Colwyn Bay the local authority is moving hundreds of staff to the town centre which will provide a major boost, is it time for Denbighshire to show its commitment to Rhyl and do the same.”
A Denbighshire council spokesman said: "There are currently 12 vacant business premises on the High Street (out of a total of 1199 business premises in the town).
"As national consumer shopping habits change we’re likely to see a small number of businesses continue to come and go from the High Street due to challenging trading conditions.
"Work to support improved trading conditions and the offer to consumers on Rhyl High Street has included resurfacing and widening pavements, improved lighting and tree planting to improve the shopping experience.
"Owners of the White Rose centre are improving facilities for their shoppers and creating larger units to attract new tenants. Encouraging investment in high quality premises by private landlords is a key challenge.
"The rates revaluation being carried out by the Valuation Office Agency is anticipated to bring previously out of step rates back in line with market rents in the town centre. We expect this to contribute to encouraging investment from landlords and provide some relief to businesses that have been struggling to balance the books."
They said that the council offered small business development and shop front improvement grants.
He added: "Over the long term we are working with Neptune Developments Ltd on an ambitious £30m investment plan for the waterfront that will see the creation of a new Aquatic Centre, hotel, suite of restaurants, improvements to car parking, refurbished theatre and additional active leisure offer.
"We are linking these developments - and most importantly the additional footfall they will bring - into the High Street in order to encourage visitors to spend time and money."
Bangor has already seen the creation of a Business Improvement District(BID) to help support the city centre.
The group - run by business leaders - will take a levy from companies in the centre of the city and use the cash to make improvements, access funding and promote the area.
Haydn Davies, chair of the Bangor BID board, said: "We know there is a problem nationally with empty units and Bangor is part of that problem.
"We have two strategies to tackle this.
"The first is improving the appearance of the town centre. We have had a shop front painting scheme with the Town Centre Partnership that has been a huge success and we are also bringing in flowers to just improve the appearance.
"The second part is a prospectus that we can send out to investors and retailers to encourage them to come to Bangor. We have certain target names that we are going after.
"There are challenges though, business rents and rates are the big issues and these need to be addressed."
Across Britain, the run-up to the EU Referendum saw shop closures exceeding openings, with 22,801 closures in the period from January to June, 1,997 more than the 20,804 shop openings.
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/ghost-town-warning-one-five-11910657
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