DISTANT London-based landlords are behind many of York’s empty city centre shops, a councillor has complained.

Empty shop units in York cluster around a few areas – including Coney Street – but many of the properties are owned by London-based companies making it hard for the city council and other groups to work on bringing in new occupants.

Cllr Keith Aspden, executive member for economic growth, told councillors on an economy committee of the difficulties at a meeting on Tuesday night.

He said: “A lot of the owners are not local companies but businesses often based in London which have long lists of shops, and don’t really understand these shops or the context they are based in.”

Sometimes the owners are still receiving rent on their empty York properties, he added, and it can be very difficult for the council or groups like the Business Improvement District (BID) to get permission even to install “wrappers” to improve the appearance of the empty shops.

Cllr Aspden also told the committee that all council owned shops in the city centre are now occupied, and said there could soon be news on a new occupier for the empty BHS shop.