For more than 20 years, the café strip on Oxford Street in the inner-Perth suburb of Leederville has been a thriving mix of places to eat and shop.

But independent retailers are saying that high rents, inflexible landlords and a decline in spending are forcing them out, threatening the character of the areas they helped to support.

It's a pattern being seen in traditional high streets all over the inner-city, where precincts become victims of their own success, according to David Galloway, chair of business and residents' association Leederville Connect.

People flock to urban areas with an eclectic mix of businesses as an alternative to large shopping centres, but that can drive rents up.

"Once the vibe gets going, unfortunately people don't have a lot of imagination and decide to jump onboard," Mr Galloway told ABC Radio Perth Focus.

"What makes the most money is food and beverage businesses, even more money from franchises.

"So landlords look where they can get the most money, they go to franchises and then after that the retailers get squeezed out."

Leederville has become almost a victim of its own success, with smaller retailers feeling squeezed. ( ABC News: Briana Shepherd )

Clothing retailer Nick Sheppard has decided to close his Leederville business after 24 years, and the bookshop on the strip is also planning to close in July.

He said rents and overheads were high, but the biggest problem was customers simply weren't shopping like they used to.

"The only real answer for small business owners is for customers to come in and spend money. Overheads are not a problem if you can meet them.

"We are in a very tough economic climate in WA right now.

"If all we are doing is paying our landlord and our staff and our stock and not taking anything home it's just not viable."

Decline and revitalisation a slow cycle

The concern is that when retail businesses disappear, they are often replaced by bars, cafes or restaurants, making areas quiet during the day and only busy at night — a slow death for traditional high streets around Perth.

Mr Galloway believes that without intervention from state and local government to keep character areas like the Oxford Street strip, they will be taken over by franchises or vacant shopfronts.

"There is a cycle when you see town centres die," he said.

"Then slowly you get artists and other people moving in because it is cheap rent.

"The dilemma is in places like Leederville is that we don't want to have that 20-year timeframe, where you get the collapse, dereliction and then empty spaces that the creatives discover."

Councils are concerned that a proliferation of food and beverage businesses leave streets too quiet during the day. ( ABC News: Laura Gartry )

Emma Cole, the Mayor of Vincent which includes Leederville, said the council was looking at ways it could play a role in shaping local shopping strips.

"I think it would be great if local council could play that shopping centre manager role in town centres. It's something that we have had a bit of a look at.

"When you lose retail you lose daytime activity, so having a mechanism through our planning framework to be able to control it would be fantastic."

Talkback caller Kim said she believed customers also had to think more carefully about where they spent money.

"I love supporting locally owned businesses," she said.

"I'm not up for the bigger companies squeezing them out. I think we as consumers need to be conscious of where we are spending our money and how much we are spending."

'Soulless' streets

Other listeners lamented the decline of retail in other suburbs.

Hannah: "I live in East Perth and high rents and expensive paid parking have killed Royal Street; so many empty shops. It is now soulless."

Phil: "Here in Subiaco several of my favourite restaurants and stores have closed in recent times. Parking is too restrictive, rents are too high in my opinion too."

Mary: "We are in Mt Lawley/Highgate. There are too many chain food places, we need a mix of businesses. The area has gone downhill. Lots of shops have closed."

Mr Sheppard said he believed the answer might be for stores to try and take more control.

His Leederville clothing store is closing but a second store in Mount Lawley, which is also a coffee and barber shop, will continue.

He said providing a mix of services in one place might be more attractive.

"It may be an idea to curate your own alternative space that you control and ideally that you own to create an alternative experience for people who can't stand going to shopping malls."