The number of charity shops on the high street grew 34 per cent between 2004 and 2012, making charity retail one of the fastest growing sectors, delegates at the Charity Retail Association’s annual conference heard yesterday.

Ojay McDonald, policy manager at the Association of Town and City Management, said Experian research showed that other fast-growing sectors included convenience stores, up 153 per cent over the same period, cafes, up 75 per cent, and betting shops, up 43 per cent.

Speaking at a session, called The Future of the High Street – adapting your offer to the changing high street, he said music shops declined 45 per cent and travel agencies 31 per cent, both due to their offerings being digitised.  

McDonald said the viability of the high street was being threatened by business rates.

“It isn’t a problem for charities yet, but it is possible in the future that it could be a problem,” he said.

The CRA spent last year campaigning against proposals by the Welsh Assembly to reduce the business rate relief that charity shops receive from 80 per cent to 50 per cent.

But McDonald said the ATCM did not support cutting business rate relief for charities.

“Ideally what should happen is that charity retail should maintain their tax relief,” he said. “That for us is not an issue.

“There are people out there who feel differently. I don’t think they are necessarily in touch with the full facts. Taking tax relief away from charities does not do anything to help the high street.”  

High streets have been hit by out-of-town retail parks and internet shopping; 15 years ago more than half of retail sales took place outside of town centres and that has continued to decline to around 40 per cent, he said.  

“Much of the damage to high streets happened before the recession,” McDonald said. “The structural flaws of town centres were exposed by the recession.”