EMPTY shows could soon be a thing of the past for one town.

Latest figures show Hailsham town centre falls below the regional and national averages of vacant ground floor commercial units.

During the past few years, the town centre has welcomed a range of new businesses in the town centre, including those which have expanded and subsequently relocated to larger premises and retail spaces.

According to a recent vacancy rate survey conducted by Springboard, the percentage of vacant ground floor units in Hailsham currently stands at 7.2 per cent.

This compares to a current regional/South east average of 8.1 per cent and national average of 9.9 per cent.

Deputy town clerk and business enterprise manager Mickey Caira said: “The percentage of vacant commercial units in Hailsham currently falls below the current regional and national averages, which is excellent news for Hailsham.

“Hailsham is the place to be and there has been a marked improvement in the number of empty shops.”