TEN shops in York’s premier shopping street have now closed or are set to shut - but experts believe it’s just a blip and Coney Street will soon be booming again.

The imminent shutdown of the Dorothy Perkins/Burtons store is just the latest in a series of closures leaving gaping holes in the heart of the city centre.

A phone shop next door has shut, and just across the road, there are three empty premises in a row - the former BHS department store, the fashion shop Wallis and Currys/PC World.

Also closed are the former Burgins perfumery shop, a former phone shop at the junction with New Street, a small unit next to Waterstones and another empty shop with a window that has been dressed by York BID to make it less unattractive until it can be rented out.

However, another closed shop is due to re-open later this month as Krispy Cremes, a doughnut cafe, and Blacks outdoor clothing is set to move into the former PC World shop after vacating its store in nearby St Helen’s Square.

And leading retail property agent Andrew Hedley, of Blacks property consultants, said yesterday he was confident more units would be taken in the lucrative run-up to Christmas.

He believed the number of empty shops was exceptional and partly coincidental, relating to a number of leases coming to an end at the same time.

He said there was still a huge amount of interest in opening shops in York. “I have seven retail deals on the go for the city centre at the moment,” he said.

“I was told a tenant was leaving a shop on a Friday afternoon and someone wanting a unit came down from Scotland on the Monday morning and put an offer in for it by the afternoon, so things aren’t that bad!”

However, he said there were now fewer businesses such as phone shops which used to take up smaller units.

Andrew Sharp, head of business at the destination management organisation Make It York, said: “As one of York’s principal shopping streets it is disappointing to see the current level of empty shops along Coney Street.”

But he said York had a highly attractive city centre retail offer, with exceptional quality independents, top name brands as well as quality out of town shopping.

“York continues to be an attractive retail destination and we continue to see strong interest from retailers looking to locate here,” he said.

“We have seen a number of well-known brands open in the city over the past year including Crew, Origins, Sweaty Betty, Sea Salt, Jessops and Primark. We are actively working to attract new retailers to the city and we have also been working with the York BID to support the roll out of a window dressing programme on vacant shopfronts in the city centre. This is helping to reduce the visual impact of vacant shopfronts and act as an incentive for another business to set up trade in York.”