How many high street stores have closed near to you in 2018?

2018 has been the worst year since the millennium for shop closures in the UK. Credit: PA

Are we living through the death of the high street?

To date, 2018 has been the worst year since the millennium for shop closures in the UK.

In the past few weeks alone, House of Fraser has announced it is to shut 31 stores and Poundworld plunged into administration.

Earlier this year, both Toys R Us and Maplin collapsed, while the likes of Prezzo, Byron and Jamie’s Italian have shut restaurants.

The closure of hundreds of shops has resulted in the axing of a colossal 50,000 jobs as retail workers bear the brunt of store closures.

In order to save what is left of the high street, an influential report has said that the UK must accept there is currently too much retail space for Britain's shopping habits.

It continues that in order to thrive, town centres need to be “repopulated and re-fashioned” and must become community hubs that include housing, offices and some shops.

The report's author, Bill Grimsey, cautioned that there is no sign of a slowdown in the rate of retail closures.

Take a look at the map below which which shows the number of shops which closed from the beginning of the year to June 2018.

Zoom in on where you live and place your cursor above the coloured dots to find out which shops have shut or are due to close.

  • Map credit: Radius Data Exchange

Retail analyst James Child, who compiled the data for ITV News, explained 2018 has been the worst year since the turn of the millennium for store closures in the UK.

He said: “The failures of Toys R Us and Maplin have followed with multiple CVAs (Company Voluntary Arrangements) across the retail sector, New Look, Carpetright, Mothercare and House of Fraser to name a few – as well as the food and beverage sector which has also seen Prezzo, Byron, Jamie’s Italian and many more close stores up and down the country.

“With more retailers expected to be added to the list of consolidations such as Bargain Booze, Poundworld and recently The Original Factory Store, the figure of 10.6 million square foot and 868 stores is set to rise in the later stages of the year.

"With many others flirting with profit warnings and the landscape of retail continuing to evolve, it is likely we will see many more winners and losers before the year end.”