OXFORD city centre has withstood the recession better than other shopping centres, according to a survey for the British Property Federation.

Just eight per cent of shops are vacant, compared to a national average of 12.4 per cent, according to figures from the Local Data Company.

The report laments the “decline of Britain’s high streets”, with vacancies continuing to increase over the last two quarters, although at a slower rate that before.

According to the report, vacancies in Oxford stayed practically unchanged between June and December 2009.

The rosy picture in Oxford contrasts with centres such as Wolverhampton, which has 23.9 per cent of its shops standing empty. Banbury vacancies increased from seven per cent to nine per cent, while Abingdon's figure was put at 12 per cent. Swindon and Reading have nine per cent vacancy rates.

Graham Jones, of the High Street Business Association in Oxford, said: “What has surprised me is that while there have been quite a few closures, short-term lets have seen premises occupied again. The situation was looking more stark about four months ago, but now I would accept these figures.”

Meanwhile Wantage, which is too small to feature in the survey, has found a new occupier for its former Woolworths store, empty since 2008.

Cargo, a homeware chain based in Thame, will open its eight branch there later this month, while Costa Coffee is to move into The Arbery Building in Market Square on March 5.

Once the two businesses are open, it will be the first time since the start of the recession that there have been no vacant shops in Market Square.

Cargo will employ ten people.

Managing director Clive Gilbert said: “We’ve wanted to have a store in Wantage for a number of years and, unfortunately, it’s taken the demise of a great business in the shape of Woolworths to free up a store that was the right size for us.”

He said the decision to move to Wantage had been boosted by the success of a new store opened in Abingdon in October.

Wantage was described last April by the Daily Mail newspaper as “dying”. Wantage mayor Patrick O’Leary said: “All the shops in Market Square are now let and it’s a great upturn for Wantage’s fortunes from a low point when the Daily Mail article came out.”

Liz Peace, of the British Property Federation, said she did not expect a return to ‘the high streets of yesteryear’.

“The fact of the matter is that Brits now do a lot more shopping over the web, so we’re seeing a fundamental reshaping of high streets,” she said.