There is a different – but now familiar - story to tell with regard to retail commercial property, and it is again a subject we have written about extensively. Whilst there are some bright spots for Birmingham, the long-term decline of the traditional High Street continues and it’s unclear whether a demand led recovery will be enough to reverse the trend, with £1 in every £7 now buying on the internet.

Colliers report, by their Birmingham-based retail specialist Nick Round, cites West Midlands’ successes as being the Bullring and John Lewis taking space in the New Street station redevelopment but this good news is outweighed by a gloomy overall picture including:

• Parts of the West Midlands seeing dramatic declines in average in-town prime rental growth. As a result, the region is one of worst performing in the country.

• Rents in Birmingham average £139.60 per sq ft, compared to Manchester's Market Street fetching £149.60, while London's Old Bond Street achieves £598.65 per sq ft.

• The West Midlands saw rents fall by just over 4%; in the East Midlands the decline was even worse at almost 6%.

• West Bromwich is one of the worst performing locations in the UK. Prime retail rents there dropped by a staggering 28.6% to £50 per sq ft.

The report sees little sign of any improvement during 2011.

A separate report on commercial property from the organisation confirms the decline in the Retail Commercial property sector. Their ‘National Retail Barometer Summer 2011’ reveals vacancy rates almost doubling in the past 5 years, and an increased growth in short term 6 month lets. They also see a growing disparity between prime and secondary retail areas concluding:

The polarisation between prime and secondary continues; the void rate for secondary floorspace is now almost three times that for prime. Prime continues to let, whilst the quantum of secondary stock remains stubbornly high. Arguably some secondary areas are in danger of becoming locationally obsolete.

Colliers conclude that the next quarter may be critical in the long-term recovery of retail units and those involved in commercial property management will be inclined to agree. Portas or not, the debate on the future of genuine local High Streets seems barely to have gone beyond the pages of commercial property management publications, whereas the real debate must include Central and Local Government, retailers – and the public.