MORE than 600 shops and offices are lying empty in Southend, new figures have shown.

The list of empty commercial buildings shows swathes of empty units, including many in some of the biggest trading areas in the borough.

In Southchurch Road, 25 units are empty, while 11 are unused in Southend High Street, including the former Woolworths building, and five in Ness Road, Shoebury.

In London Road, Westcliff, there are 57 empty shops and offices.

While the recession has increased the number of empty properties, some of the sites have been empty for years.

Business leaders have said there is nothing unusual about Southend, but have warned too many empty shops can put people off coming to the town.

John Clayton, chief executive of the Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: “I think this is just a normal part of any economic downturn.

“The positives are other locations in the UK will have been affected much more than Southend. It means we have a ready supply of available commercial and industrial space when the upturn does start.

“It’s all part of the economic adjustment process kicked off by the downturn, but things will improve.

The figures were released following a Freedom of Information Act request to Southend Council about the number of empty commercial premises.

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