SHOPPING in the Faithful City is better than ever.

A city council survey has shown that Worcester is a shopaholic's heaven with its balance of high street chains and unique independent stores.

The survey asked 1,000 households what aspect of the city they felt had improved the most over the past three years and shopping came out on top.

The results have been welcomed by retail managers.

City centre manager Georgia Smith said: "This is good news. Over time, shops change, and since 2003 we've a lot of improvements like the Cathedral Plaza, for example.

"Another really strong selling point for Worcester is the mix of independent stores and household chains.

"When people shop here they get what they are expecting and also find something a little extra. In fact I think our independent scene is stronger than places like Cheltenham."

Three years ago, the Lychgate Shopping Centre underwent a major facelift and was rebranded Cathedral Plaza.

The first store to move in was Europe's largest fashion retailer, H&M Hennes, and today the centre is bursting with stores like Next, which re-located from a much smaller city site, and independent stores such as Face The Music.

Chris Harvey, head of policy at Chamber of Commerce Herefordshire and Worcestershire agreed it was Worcester's mix of large and small shops which led to its success.

"It is something Worcester is very successful at and something we really want to encourage.

"Independent shops are what give a city its individuality."

One of the latest High Street stores to move into Worcester is shoe shop Office.

A spokesman said: "Office moved to Worcester as the High Street in the area has really developed over the years, and with Office been at the forefront of fashion footwear it was extremely important to be part of that.

"With surrounding towns such as Bath, Bristol and Leicester performing well, Worcester was the next obvious choice for the company."

But it hasn't been all good news for Worcester's retail hub, only last week the Worcester News reported how cracks had already started to appear in the new High Street paving just months after a £1.3m make-over was completed.

The High Street was due to be closed to traffic again today as labourers finish off the refurbishment work.

And a few days later we reported how two shops in the High Street are standing vacant, although officials said empty shops were perfectly normal in any city centre and nothing to worry about.

l The council survey found people believed the cost of living had least improved since 2003, followed by litter levels and parking facilities and affordable housing.