EXETER city centre is continuing to buck the national trend for vacant shops, according to the latest figures.

Despite the recession the number of empty retail units has remained virtually unchanged over the past eight months, rising from 49 in March to 50 in November.

In the preceding 18 months it had increased sharply from 26 in August 2007.

The current vacancy rate of around 8.6 per cent is well below the national average of 15 per cent, indicating that other high streets around the country have been worse hit by the credit crunch.

In a report to Exeter City Council's planning committee yesterday, Richard Short, the authority's head of planning, said: "The total number of vacancies remains modest when set against almost 586 retail units in the city centre overall and there is progress in reletting."

It comes in the wake of store openings in Princesshay at the weekend by JD Sports and board sports retailer Two Seasons, and as Virgin Media prepares to open its new High Street shop later this week.

John Kinsey, leisure partner at property consultants King Sturge, said: "Exeter has done okay, but it was unlucky that within a short time of the Princesshay scheme opening we have had the credit crunch and that's caused particular difficulties.

"With any new opening of a scheme where people move around it usually takes 12 months to settle down, when the units in the High Street, which people moved out of, would have been relet. But unfortunately the crisis didn't allow that to happen.

"Times are difficult but we have a lot of positives to celebrate as well. The HMV move into Princesshay was a tremendous boost and it's a really big tick against the city that a big name like Carluccio's has come here in recessionary times.

"There's a lot of national speculation about some more major fallout in the new year. I would be hopeful that the way Exeter is trading we might miss that.

"We act for two or three big national and local retailers and one of the towns that we are looking in quite hard for units is Exeter."

The Echo's Exeter Bites Back campaign is continuing to highlight positive news about the local economy.

City centre manager John Harvey, an Exeter Bites Back ambassador, described the latest shop vacancy figures as "very encouraging".

"We are now seeing a number of new store openings, which shows increasing confidence in Exeter city centre as a place businesses wish to be located in," he said.

"We are still performing really well by comparison with the national picture, but that's not to say I'm happy with a vacancy rate of around eight per cent.

"I would rather it were lower and we won't rest until we see a significant drop in vacancy levels."