Burnt Oak has been named one of the worst town centres in the country.

A survey of the UK's retail centres has placed Burnt Oak 995th out of 1000 in their rankings, making it one of the poorest town centre, high street or shopping centre in the country.

The Vitality Index ranks 1000 centres based on the rate of vacancies on the high street, proportion of up-market shops against more "value-led" shops and the proportion of so-called "undesirable" shops including pawnbrokers and bookmakers.

Nearby high street Harrow Road also scored badly on the list at 999th, with Byker Shields in Newcastle ranked the worst town centre in the country.

Burnt Oak councillor Ammar Naqvi said: "With respect to the town centre vitality survey, and the inadequacy of Burnt Oak's retail health, I think this reveals the level of long-term neglect that the local area, and local people, have had to suffer through under the current Conservative administration in Barnet.

"Although some efforts are now being made to regenerate the town centre, with £617,000 of funds allocated for these purposes, these funds have arrived far later than they ought to have and amount to far less than they need to be."

The report, compiled by retail property advisors Harper Dennis Hobbs, state that many new additions to the lower part of the index are deprived urban areas of a major city or small neighbourhoods, and are dominated by large numbers of vacant units or undesirable shops.

Cllr Naqvi continued: "I think that local residents have the right to expect a lot more from their council. The amount of investment Burnt Oak needs, and has been denied for so long, is staggering.

"The administration cannot continue ignoring the very reasonable wants and desires of Burnt Oak residents, because my ward colleagues and I are always listening and are ready to relay these messages as often and as loudly as it takes to be heard."

But Conservative councillor Dan Thomas, chairman of the Assets & Regeneration Committee, pointed out that the council successfully applied for a £269,048 grant from former Mayor of London Boris Johnson in December 2014 as part of the ongoing £617,464 Burnt Oak Town Centre Project, which will include an improved layout of the town centre, upgrading the tube station and invigorating shop fronts.

He said: "In the digital age, some town centres need help to retain their vitality, and this isn’t unique to Barnet. Harrow Road in Labour-controlled Brent, for example, is 999th out of 1,000 in the Vitality Index.

"I invite Labour’s Burnt Oak councillors to make positive suggestions rather than sniping from the side lines."