NEW figures released by South Lakeland District Council show the level of empty shops in Kendal is at its lowest for six years.

SLDC says the percentage of shop units in the town that are vacant is 9.97 per cent - the first time the rate has been below 10 per cent since 2008.

But the number of empty shops in Ambleside has increased slightly to 14 - up one from 13 at the start of the year, said the council.

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Empty shop numbers are collected every quarter by the council's economy and assets team from Kendal, Ulverston, Kirkby Lonsdale, Ambleside, Windermere, Bowness and now Kirkby Lonsdale, Grange and Milnthorpe.

South Lakeland’s biggest high street is in Kendal, where 437 shops were surveyed earlier this month, said the authority.

There were 43 shops classed as empty in the town according to the most recent figures - down 11 from the 54 vacant shops recorded in September 2013 when the rate of empty units was 12.41 per cent.

The council says there is also an encouraging picture in Ulverston, where the rate of 8.28 per cent empty shops is the lowest in the town since April 2012.

The September figures show there are 14 empty shop units in Ulverston, said the council.

In Windermere, five shop units are empty - a rate of 4.16 per cent, which is the lowest rate recorded this year, said the council.

It is a similar situation in Bowness where the rate of 7.38 per cent is also the lowest rate so far this year, with five more shop units occupied since June, SLDC said.

The new quarterly figures do show that empty shops have increased in Ambleside to 14, up from 13 at the start of the year, and there is one extra empty shop unit in Milnthorpe and two additional empty shops in Kirkby Lonsdale compared to the June 2014 figures, said the council. In Grange the number of empty units has remained the same at three.

The national average for shop vacancy rates is 13.5 per cent and the north west average is 16.9 per cent.

All areas of South Lakeland are below that national average figure and the overall average for South Lakeland is 7.3 per cent, said the council.

Cllr Giles Archibald, SLDC portfolio holder for town centres and small business, said: “It is positive to see the levels of empty shops in some areas is returning to pre-recession levels, but while the headline figures look good there is still a lot more to do to help the independent retailers."

Commenting on the figures, Westmorland MP Tim Farron said iin a statement: "These figures are very good news but we can and must do more."