MOVES to revitalise the high street have been embraced by shoppers and traders in Gloucester.

Retail queen Mary Portas has drawn up a 28-point plan to save bedraggled city centres - and now calls are being made for the advice to be taken on board here.

Disgruntled shoppers in Gloucester's gated streets yesterday said changes could not come soon enough.

At the moment 33 shops in the city are empty, 11 per cent of the total.

That compares well to the national average of 14.5 per cent, but is well below other county areas such as Cirencester and the Cotswolds, both at six per cent.

Carol Miller, 67, from Linden, said: "There's so many shops in Gloucester closing down and you get lots of the same kind of shops here, all these pound shops.

"The city centre needs more big names, we need a TK Maxx here."

Diane Young, 46, from Longlevens, said: "I don't Gloucester is up to scratch.

"It's missing any major shops, it needs a Next and things like that. You can't always get you want in the city centre so I think it does need some help."

Gordon Williams, 82, of London Road, said: "I definitely back what this report has said about tax in supermarket car parks, that needs to be addressed.

"The city centre isn't what it used to be, there's no life to it."

Gillian Part, 75, from Haresfield, said: "I think it's struggling because people have not got any money.

"If rents were lowered maybe more shops could open up."

Leader of Gloucester City Council, Councillor Paul James (Con, Longlevens) said the report provided food for thought but that Gloucester's has a bright future.

"In some way we have already got a team managing the city centre, we have regular stakeholder meetings to see what's happening there and what needs to happen," he said.

"There's definitely still a place for the high street today but you have to make it an attractive place for people to visit and given them more to do than just shop.

"I think we're doing that, we have all our historic buildings that people can explore but we do recognise there is work to be done."

Other community leaders echoed that view.

Barry Leach, secretary of Gloucester City Centre Community Partnership, added: "We need to look at the shops that have been empty for a long time and need to be a bit radical with them.

"Gloucester may not be among the high-flying city centres at the moment, but it's not among the worse."

Ivan Taylor, who owns Truscott Jewellers and represents traders in the Westgate Quarter, said: "I think any input that tries to look at city centres has got to be welcome.

"Gloucester is getting its fair share of business coming in from outside at the moment but there are a lot of shops empty too.

"We've got to be saying to customers 'yes we can' when it comes to customer service.

"That's how businesses will survive in the future, I think."

Clare Gerbrands, organiser of Gloucester and Stroud’s Farmers’ Markets gives her reaction to the Portas review:

FINALLY, someone has come along who understands the challenges facing high street retail in the current social and economic climate.

Whilst I applaud Mary Portas in opening the debate, and highlighting issues such as the lack of tax on supermarket car parks, I am hesitant to agree with her report whole-heartedly.

It is more regulation of market stalls which will bring shoppers into town centres, not less. I also believe a complete turnaround by local authorities, who have come to view markets as an income stream rather than as a community investment, would help markets to thrive more by freeing up capital for investment in equipment and special events. I see competitive tendering as favouring large market operators over community based market organisations, with an inevitable loss of identity for the events and their customers.

The outstanding success of our farmers markets, which are nationally recognised, has been built upon the triangle of regulation, community and business which I first used as a model when I started Made in Stroud in 1990. It is precisely by working with local environmental health and trading standards officials, all of whom assisted in writing my Safe Food Policy for Farmers Market Stallholders.

The policy has been adopted as a national standard, and we have created a market place for top quality local producers, with food safety standards at our market above the legal minimal requirements.

All our stallholders are inspected and insured, so customers can be assured they are buying only the highest quality food and drink from genuinely local producers.

I'd welcome the opportunity to invite Mary Portas to our market in Stroud to discuss how markets can regenerate town centres, build community and create a solid economic foundation during times of crisis. I'm sure we have a lot of common ground and a lot of experience to share and I am a great admirer of her work.