York moved into the premier league of Britain's shopping centres today as it was placed in the top 20 retail hot spots in the country.

The news was welcomed by traders in the city who have weathered a difficult winter, as they vowed to keep up the momentum.

A study of the nation's large towns, cities and shopping centres found London's West End was still top of the shops, but showed provincial cities catching up, notably Glasgow, Nottingham and Leeds. York came 16th out of the 20 top locations, which were graded by a "vitality" reading, gauging benefits and disadvantages for shoppers.

The study, by Experian Retail Ranking, found York's position had improved since last year. It said many retail brands had established themselves in the increasingly fashion-conscious provinces.

Nicholas Brown, vice president of York Chamber of Trade, said: "To get in the Top 20 is an impressive performance.

"I think you have to look at the massive changes in York over the last ten years, the three malls at the edge of the city which have been slick at marketing themselves. The city centre had quite a coup getting Mango coming to York and some other big names have come to York, and in the rest of the city centre many traders have upgraded."

He said York was seen more of an enjoyable retailing environment.

Sally Slack, chairwoman of the retail committee on the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is fantastic. I think we should be higher up the rankings, but it's good news.

"Personally I think York has got everything, it's got multiples, individual shops, attractions and we've got beautiful countryside."

She said she was confident that York was strong enough to get through the current dip in visitor numbers and to keep improving.

"We have to utilise marketing, like the York's Here campaign, we need to do more of that. There is a lot of competition out there and it's not just in the UK. People are going to Prague and Bruges for the weekend and we need to work together."

Tony Bennett, chairman of First Stop York and assistant director of the City of York Council's economic development unit, said: "This is very positive news. I think it is the result of improvements taking place over the last five years and the benefits of the investment that has been attracted into the city, and the city is attractive as a place. Our research on tourism shows more and more people are looking for shopping as the reason for making a short break."

Updated: 12:44 Friday, March 09, 2001