More than a quarter of shops in one of the region's biggest towns are lying empty, with locals warning the area is turning into a 'zombie' high street.
Latest figures show that 26pc of stores in once bustling Lowestoft are now boarded up - almost double the national vacancy rate.
The statistics lay bare the challenges facing high streets across Britain, especially in seaside towns.
Shoppers in Lowestoft voiced their sadness about the decline of their beloved high street area - as remaining retailers called for action to help revive it.
However, business leaders, council chiefs and the town's MP say some of the empty units have since been filled and insist there are key improvements on the horizon.
This includes a national sports retailer earmarked for one of the biggest empty units, the former Palmers store, plans for a £24.3m Cultural Quarter vision for the Battery Green area and a new £4.8m creative hub in the former post office on London Road North.
WHAT DO THE FIGURES SHOW?
The vacancy figures were compiled by East Suffolk Council during a snapshot survey last April and May.
A report from January shows that of 2,150 commercial properties in the district, 265 were vacant - an average of 12.3pc.
In Lowestoft, there were 96 empty shops out of 366, or 26pc, an increase on 24pc the year before.
This is not only the highest in the region but almost double to national vacancy rate of 13.9pc.
By contrast, the figure for Norwich is 12.3pc, Halesworth, 13pc, Beccles 9.7pc and Southwold 9pc.
Figures from 2022 showed an average in Norfolk market towns of 6.9pc.
It comes amid continued concerns over the future of the UK's high streets and the spread of so-called 'zombie towns', with high rates of boarded up shops.
Many areas have been crippled by competition from online retailers and out-of-town retail parks.
Businesses have also suffered from the cost-of-living crisis and the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns.
Research earlier this month found that nearly 1,400 stores shut across Britain last year, an average of 39 per day, with major retailers including Wilko - which had a store in Lowestoft - Paperchase and Lloyds pharmacy shutting their doors.
WHAT DO PEOPLE IN LOWESTOFT SAY?
What used to be a thriving town centre has seen big name stores - including leading departments in Westgate/Beales, Palmers and Wilko - disappear along with Tesco, Burton and Argos in recent years.
Locals expressed frustration at having to head to retail parks elsewhere in the town, or travel to other towns by car.
One woman, who lives in Lowestoft, said: "My family and friends don't shop in Lowestoft any more. They go to Norwich or Yarmouth or even shop online.
"All the big shops that have shut in Lowestoft. It looks rundown and tired now - unfortunately there are not any good shops to attract people, it needs a new direction."
Bernard Ladd, 72, of Lowestoft said: "Parts of Lowestoft and the high street are looking rundown, and the town appears to be finding it very, very hard to attract new businesses. Sadly, it slowly seems to becoming a ghost town."
Elizabeth Bloice, who has lived in Lowestoft all her life, said: "It needs rejuvenating.
"We were a big tourist centre, and while we still have got a beautiful seafront and historic parts of the town.
"When you come into the town centre parts of it are derelict - and that is just not what visitors want to see.
"When you used to go to town it was an occasion, you would dress up.
"Now we have to go out of town to find what we need.
"If you don't drive it is particularly difficult - there are no supermarkets any more what with Tesco, Safeway, Liptons the Co-op all gone.
"Yes, there is a Tesco Express, but things change and there needs to be some form of investment and it really needs money spent on it to bring the businesses back to the high street somehow."
Chris Thomas, who has lived in Lowestoft for more than 40 years, said: "The town centre is the lifeblood of the town and if you kill that off, its almost the death knell to the town. To see the shops shutting it is disappointing.
"You have to think how many people used to come to the town centre just to browse the shops - that's all gone now.
"In its heyday you would come into Lowestoft, browse the shops and you could buy everything you wanted - from a safety pin to a tuxedo.
"Beales (Westgate), Palmers, Tesco, Argos - they have all gone.
"Something needs to move forward and I think it needs some imagination on how to revitalise this town."
HEYDAY MEMORIES
Retired businessman Michael Cook was involved with the independent family-run furniture shop, Cooks Furnishers, which traded in the town for 107 years and spanned four generations until it closed in 2019.
He said: "The heyday of the town centre in London Road North was in the 1970s and 1980s.
"Then you could find everything you wanted.
"There was no such thing as online shopping with the nearest alternative being the club books and shopping catalogues.
"There were department stores including Catlings, Co-op, Chadds and Tuttles and it is surprising how many furniture shops there used to be.
"I can remember as well as Cooks Furnishers there was Percy Wiggs, Browns, Woodhouse, George Armes and Smiths.
"Then there were men's outfitters John Collier, Burton, Harry Holgate and Hepworths.
"Unfortunately now you have to go to retail park out of town to buy things in person with the exception of Marks and Spencer - which is now the only reason many people go into town.
"The change in retail has seen vape shops, gaming businesses and charity shops take on some empty units which is a shame."
REASONS FOR OPTIMISM
Despite the figures, business leaders, council chiefs and MP Peter Aldous say "positive" moves are being made to address the town centre's challenges.
Danny Steel, chairman of Lowestoft Vision - the Business Improvement District (BID) - said: "All three of the largest vacant units we have in Lowestoft - formerly Palmers, Beales and Tesco - are progressing.
"An awful lot of changes have taken place recently, with new shops now in town.
Mr Aldous, said: "The Towns Fund scheme of £25m is a welcome investment in Lowestoft with ambitious plans for future development and investment set out in the Town Investment Plan.
"The approval for the former post office in the town centre, the repurposing of the town centre with the Cultural Quarter - I think we are putting the improvements in place and there is an enormous amount of hard work going on to showcase destination Lowestoft."
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