THERE is a misguided view that all high street lettings since the end of 2008 have been at a highly discounted rate.

But, while some highly concessionary deals have been agreed, this is certainly not the case across the board.

Different areas within Liverpool are coping with the current economic climate with varying success but the basic rule still applies – where demand for space remains, so do rental values.

Liverpool One has helped the city weather the economic storm, in no more apparent way than its unexpectedly positive impact on Church Street – which has helped Liverpool maintain a buoyant traditional high street.

Liverpool One itself is performing well with its boutique streets such as Keys Court and St Peters Walk now reaching full occupancy to match its main shopping streets of Paradise Street and South John Street.

There are still vacancies within the scheme, but this is to be expected as tenants shuffle around and find their feet in what is still a very young scheme.

Outside of Liverpool One, the traditional shopping streets of Liverpool are still holding their own.

Bold Street remains a vibrant and diverse shopping street with an assorted tenant mix, and Renshaw Street is coming back to life with the re-letting of the former Rapid Building.

There is also the positive impact that the Central Village scheme will have on the area, with the redevelopment of the former Lewis’s department store.

The problems facing Liverpool’s retail property are synonymous with the problems all high streets are facing.

To date, Liverpool has largely managed to fill the voids created on the high street by the apparent never-ending succession of retailers going bust.

The retailers who have taken these spaces have tended to provide a retail offer tailored more to the value end of the retail industry.

This is, perhaps, a double-edged sword.

On the positive side, the voids on the high street are being filled, but at the cost of the tenant mix of the high street – for example, where a fashion retailer once traded, there is now a pawnbroker.

Landlords need to be careful that the tone of the street is maintained, not just in rental terms but also in retailing terms.