Rumours of the death of the traditional High Street shop are greatly exaggerated, business leaders claim - at least in York.

Chamber of Commerce chief executive Roland Harris said York's traditional shops were in a unique position to fight off the challenge from out-of-town superstores.

Many shoppers came to York to enjoy themselves rather than just to stock up on basic needs, he said - and browsing through city-centre stores was part of the fun.

His remarks came as a new report by retail industry analysts Verdict warned High Street shops could be facing a slow death through increased competition from aggressive out of town supermarkets.

The report, published at the beginning of this week, forecast more than 20,000 traditional town centre and local shops were likely to close by the year 2001.

At the same time another 24 million square feet of out-of-town shopping space was set to spring up, the report warned.

Clive Vaughan, Verdict's research manager, told the Evening Press that while in the past it had been grocers and food-shops such as butchers and bakers that had suffered from competition with superstores, that was now extending to other High Street outlets such as stationers, booksellers and even pharmacists.

Mr Harris admitted competition among retailers was becoming more intense - but said that York was in a unique position to ride the wave.

He said: "There clearly are problems that retailers have to face, but shopping (in the city centre) has become increasingly a leisure activity rather than a necessity.

"The view that we would take in York specifically is that we have a unique shopping experience here and we have to market that to the fullest possible extent."

Bill Heath, chairman of the Clifton Moor Business Association, conceded out of town sites had been a big success story.

But he insisted they were not a threat to traditional High Street stores. He said: "The out-of-town shopping centres will never ever be able to offer the type and range of services that the town centre would. In the town centre, inevitably people are going to browse around, go for a coffee, and just look around. If they come out here, it is generally to buy a product and take it home. It is very different."

Meanwhile, a major announcement is expected soon on a £50 million project to build new shops near Clifford's Tower - a scheme that could do much to rejuvenate the city's retail heart.

The project will be the biggest in York since the Coppergate Centre was built almost 20 years ago - and could include the biggest department store ever built in York. Work is also under way to extend British Home Stores in Davygate and to build three new shops there.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.