Shopkeepers are calling for more help as signs of an economic slump hit Keighley.

With empty shop windows in Cavendish Street, North Street and several along one arcade in the Airedale Centre, shop owners are appealing for more to be done to assist independent businesses.

The crisis can be seen by walking down the Brunswick Arcade corridor of the Airedale Centre, where five shop units are empty.

The former McKays store hasn't been filled for more than two years, Rosebuds has closed, Ponden Mill around the corner is empty and Soap Suds and Inspirations have moved to different locations where the rent is cheaper.

The owner of Inspirations, David Spencer, who has moved all the stock from his Airedale Centre shop into his original outlet in the Royal Arcade, said that times were getting hard for independent shop owners.

He said: "Around Keighley particularly there isn't the spending that there was. It is not a very affluent area. People have less to spend anyway so in an economic slump places like Keighley get hit far harder.

"The small independent shop which bring about a mix from the normal clone shopping centres are being squeezed out with high rents and rates. They are willing to negotiate only with the bigger outlets.

"Without the individuality of the small shops, what has Keighley got to offer that the bigger multiples don't elsewhere? The town centre is dying, we are not attracting shoppers to our town, they get it elsewhere, like Leeds.

"Keighley's future has always been it's diversification in it's smaller outlets."

"We had a clause to get out of our contract in the Airedale Centre but there are others that are stuck in theirs. It's sad really, somebody should do something for the shops in Keighley before it's too late."

Kath Mitchell - owner of Soap Suds, which has moved to Keighley Market Hall - agreed that the rent was too high for her independent business and the Brunswick Arcade lacked footfall.

She said: "On top of the rent you have VAT and service charges, there was no spare cash by the time you had paid the charges."

But Susan Mendoza, manager of the Airedale Centre, said that the rents in the Brunswick Arcade reflected the level of footfall and that some shops in the centre actually beat national footfall figures.

She said: "In February the national benchmark for footfall was minus 1.5 per cent, but we are up 1.3 per cent year on year.

"Some shops are doing well and trading successfully but those retailers that haven't quite got their product right will struggle at this time.

"We do not want to have stagnant offices so sometimes it is good to have change because otherwise the customers get bored."

Mrs Mendoza added that plans were in motion for the McKays vacancy but the information was commercially sensitive at this time.

Philip Smith, manager of Keighley Town Centre Association, said that there were still many independent businesses who were trading successfully and pointed out that the situation in Keighley was no different to other towns of a similar size across Yorkshire and the rest of the country.

He said: "In terms of Brunswick Arcade, there are a number of independent businesses in that part of the shopping centre that are continuing to do good business, like Lunch Box and Purple Haze.

"Obviously, we will have to accept generally the down turn is going to have more impact on some businesses than others across Keighley, but you have the likes of Richard Speakes outdoor shop on Lawkholme Crescent and The Wharfe and DIY shops on Cavendish Street that are trading reasonably well.

"The main shopping centre which has got the national shops that you expect in there will always continue to flourish."