by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Margate has emerged as the town with the unenviable record of having more 'To Let' signs than any other in Britain.

High streets are continuing to struggle, with fewer customers and more empty properties, especially in the Kent seaside town.

A survey of 700 town centres by the Local Data Company revealed that 25 per cent of shops in Margate are vacant – five per cent up on a year ago.

The number of empty shops across England and Wales has shot up from 4.5 per cent to 12 per cent.

The Government's Empty Property Rate has been blamed for making the situation worse. The British Property Federation has called for the tax – partly eased in the Budget – to be completely scrapped.

Liz Peace, BPF chief executive, said: "Ministers must take note of how bad the property sector has been hit by the recession, and also look specifically at how much worse things have got since they began charging empty rates last year.

"This is unequivocal evidence of the failure of this policy to bring vacant properties back into use, as property owners and any occupiers who hold a lease, try in vain to find new tenants."

Overall, south east high streeets are having a difficult summer as retail sales fell for the third month running in the year to July. The CBI, the employers’ organisation, says that the forecast for August is also weak.

A CBI survey of retailers found that 47 per cent of respondents said volumes were down. Hardware, china, DIY, carpet and furniture retailers all reported falling sales, while industrial materials and builders' merchants wholesalers also had another difficult month.