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A retail expert who has worked for huge globally renowned brands paid a visit to Exeter - and he wasn't particularly impressed.

Martin Newman - who has headed up operations for brands including Burberry, Speedo, and Harrods, scored the Devon city 'three or four out of 10', saying he fears for the city centre following the closure of House of Fraser.

He said that although the city did have major national retailers, there were too many empty units, too many major stores closing and not enough independent shops.

But Mr Newman did comment that the high street was 'slightly better' than others in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ when including the city's successful Princesshay development.

"At the moment I would say the health of the Exeter high street compared to others in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ is slightly better because you have Princesshay and others which are propping it up.

"But if I went up and down the high street and along Sidwell Street I would probably give it three or four out of 10 and say it is in a worse state than most of the cities in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ which are this size and population.

"But if I included Princesshay and the other shopping environments within it then that brings it up to slightly higher than some.

"There is quite a risk to the town centre here as a result of House of Fraser closing, other stores leaving and not having that balance of independent retail."

Exeter suffered a huge retail blow this month as the House of Fraser store closed its doors for the final time.

Martin felt the closure of such a well-known store and having such a large building not being used on the high street could act as 'a noose around the neck of Exeter'.

"My fear for Exeter is that with an anchor client and brand like House of Fraser closing, it has a ripple effect and stops consumers from coming to this part of the high street. That would worry me.

"If you go to the other end of the high street, I counted 10 empty stores, 10 charity shops, three bookmakers – not a very compelling proposition.

"That is an example of what happens when the likes of Halfords and Peacocks close, which they did. You then have that ripple effect which then goes up and down the street on either side and it results in less and less consumers coming out to that part of town. I would be worried by that.

"What is going to happen over time is that it will become even more dilapidated and run down and it is just going to become a noose around the neck of Exeter and drag down the surrounding streets along with it, so let’s hope that doesn’t happen."

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