Town an hour from Liverpool named best shopping destination

A seaside resort just over an hour from Liverpool has been named among the best shopping destinations in the country.

Prestatyn, in North Wales, came out on top in Welsh communities rated by the Vitality Rankings, which use a range of metrics to rank the shopping offer of towns and cities around the UK.

They use factors likes the quality of the retail offer, shopper numbers and demographics as well as vacancy rates. And the Denbighshire town, which has a beach and railway station, came out on top in Wales.

Prestatyn is just over an hour's drive from Liverpool, and a train journey takes around one hour and 20 minutes. It was the birthplace of former deputy prime minister John Prescott, while TV personality Carol Vorderman was brought up in the town.

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While many places have floundered in recent years the seaside town has flourished, with a retail park alongside a mix of retail and hospitality sites on the high street. It has seen it poach big names like Marks and Spencer and Next from neighbouring Rhyl, whose high street has struggled over the last decade.

Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies said: "It is a very positive sign that both Prestatyn and Ruthin town centres, with their variety of good quality independent shops, have performed so well in these retail vitality rankings. In the case of Prestatyn, it is a marked turnaround from the 1990s and early 2000s, when out-of-town developments elsewhere hit it hard."

"Prestatyn's success now demonstrates the value of investment and the provision of the services and retail opportunities that people want in the heart of the community from the shopping park to the Scala Cinema and Banking Hub. It also shows the importance of aiming for the good presentation and maintenance of public areas something that the Prestatyn in Bloom group strives for.

"Like everywhere, Prestatyn town centre faces challenges, with Welsh Government Business Rates increases and the national economic context, but it is shortly set to benefit from £4.25m in Levelling Up Funding and a brand new police station.

"It is my belief that one of the principal reasons for Prestatyn's success is its relative ease of access by car and its plentiful free parking. This is something local councils must recognise. The vitality of our town centres is harmed when parking charges are raised, draconian anti-car schemes are adopted and public toilets are closed."

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