The fact that 9% of town centre shops in Dover are empty might not sound like good news.

But that’s below the national average of 14%.

And former mayor Sue Jones says a survey she carried out bucks the perception of Dover as having a poor choice of stores.

Out of 214 shops, she counted 161 independent businesses from Ladywell, the High Street, London Road, Buckland Bridge and Barton Road.

Mrs Jones, a district and town councillor, is also the director of Pebbles Community Facilities, an organisation that focuses on some community premises in Dover, ensuring they have various uses such as meeting halls or resource centres.

She undertook the town centre research in a bid to “buck the perception” retail in Dover is poor.

In the survey, she also discovered that three more independent stores are due to open.

She said: “I always knew how vibrant the High Street/London Road area was but the number of face-to-face businesses counted in my research has amazed me.

“This area really bucks the perception of Dover being poor in its retail offer as there is not much you can’t find here, and being locals they know their customers and can adapt to changes quickly – unlike national stores, who follow the national trends.

“The number of empty units today is 9%, lower than the national average, and they fill quicker, with lower rent and rates helping businesses survive."

“There is ample free one-hour parking and all the buses travel this route out of town.”

She added: “Dover is constantly referred to as dying.

“Their footfall is up for the time of year and more than one business has relocated from further down to reduce the outlay on rent and rates. This is strengthening the upper end but not helping the main precinct.

“While there is a lot of discussion to be had on how to save our existing town centre from the new developments drain I wanted to direct a positive focus on this buzzing business community instead.”