Version: 2.0 | Published: 15 Apr 2026 | Updated: 23 days ago
Summary
Description:
Adapted from Green Street (formerly LDC) Retail Unit data which offers insights into the locations and characteristics of retail activity and vacancy across the UK, this safeguarded dataset provides retail unit classification counts aggregated annually at
Contact Point:
Documentation
Documentation:
Adapted from Green Street (formerly LDC) Retail Unit data which offers insights into the locations and characteristics of retail activity and vacancy across the UK, this safeguarded dataset provides retail unit classification counts aggregated annually at the Local Authority District level. Each snapshot represents the state of retail units as of September 30th of that year.
## Content
These annual snapshots are derived from the Green Street Retail Unit data, which is a longitudinal record. Snapshots are provided for the years 2015–2025. For each year, retail units that were active at the end of September (i.e., created before that date and not yet closed) are identified and aggregated by Local Authority District using their geographic coordinates.
The dataset includes counts for the following variables:
* Total Retail Units
* Vacant
* Comparison
* Convenience
* Leisure
* Service
* Non-Retail
* Miscellaneous
For a detailed description of the columns contained within the data, see the Variable Dictionary; and for an overview of the characteristics of the data, see the Data Summary. These files can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
If you are interested in the record-level data, these are available from the Related Record below.
Please note that this dataset cannot be accessed via our service by local authorities or organisations working with/for local authorities or associated entities such as Business Improvement Districts or Combined Authorities.
## Quality, Representation and Bias
Green Street surveys retail locations across the UK, with coverage focused on high streets, shopping centres, and retail parks. Rural and smaller retail locations may be underrepresented.
Survey representation varies over time, with the most recent years being the most complete; therefore, additional caution should be taken when conducting temporal analysis.
Coverage
Spatial
Spatial Coverage:
United Kingdom
Temporal
Start Date:
01 January 2015
End Date:
31 December 2025
Provenance
Author 1
Name Organisation:
The data for this research have been provided by the Geographic Data Service
(geods.ac.uk), a Smart Data Research UK Investment: ES/Z504464/1.
Access and Governance
Format and Standards
Format:
- CSV
- HTML