Nearly a fifth of shops in Bradford city centre are now empty, latest figures reveal.

Council statistics show that there are now 120 vacant premises blighting the city’s retail heart out of almost 650.

The figures come as the Government yesterday announced that retail guru Mary Portas is to carry out a nationwide review of what can be done to stop the demise of the British high street.

Miss Portas – dubbed Mary Queen of Shops – will be travelling the country, visiting cities and towns in need of her help as she produces a report by the end of autumn. And retail and regeneration leaders say Bradford should be on her list.

Val Summerscales, secretary of Bradford Chamber of Trade, said: “We would be delighted to see her here but the real value of it would depend on what powers she had to influence real change.

“It would be good for her to cast an expert eye on Bradford but unless the Government is prepared to commit itself to taking note and acting on her findings the effect could be minimal. To make a go of any city or town centre a lot of money is needed.”

Mike Cartwright, of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said: “If she has got a track record of helping to improve high streets let’s bring her to Bradford and see what she suggests here.”

Councillor Dave Green, who holds the regeneration portfolio on the Council, said he hoped the Government review would go beyond just retail and would cover the whole culture and economy of the city centre.

He said: “If Mary Portas came to Bradford we would welcome the opportunity to listen and talk to her but the proof of the pudding is that while she is renowned for her skills and knowledge the issue would still be whether the Government would act on her outcomes.”

Despite the rise in the number of empty shops, which stood at 112 in February, Coun Green said he believed there was “light at the end of the tunnel” for Bradford’s traders and businesses but it would involve a lot of hard work and investment from the public and private sectors.

He said there had been a particular problem over the past few years with a lack of care and interest in the city centre but it was now being addressed, citing as examples the £24.4m City Park project and Provident Financial moving back into the city centre adding “700 extra bodies” to Bradford’s footfall.

He also said it was important for the Council to keep talking to and putting pressure on Westfield – the developer behind the mothballed Broadway shopping centre plans.

Coun Green said: “We are in regular contact for the first time in years with Westfield, working together to get that scheme off the ground as soon as we possibly can. But the next steps are the hard ones about getting those new businesses open.”

  • Read the full story in Wednesday's T&A