Newport footfall figures on the up
Wedi ei bostio ar Tuesday 21st February 2017
Councillor John Richards, Newport City Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Investment, has welcomed the latest footfall figures which show a continued upward trend.
Official Springboard figures for May, June and July this year are all better than the same periods in 2015 even though the national numbers were showing a decrease earlier this summer.
Last month, 615,637 visitors were recorded in the city centre compared with 603,419 in 2015. In June, it rose to 762,821 from 722,268 the previous year and the May figures were 587,229 this year and 556,533 in 2015 - an improvement of more than four per cent across the three months.
At the end of last year, there was also an increase in visitor numbers - in October 2015 they rose to 665,326 from 648,786 in 2014. In November, the month that Friars Walk opened, 949,558 visits were recorded - the highest monthly total since 2008.
Councillor Richards said: "I am extremely pleased that Newport appears to be bucking the UK trend and has shown an increase during the summer months.
"Friars Walk has been drawing new and returning visitors to the shops and restaurants which is great. However, our footfall counters are located on Commercial Street in the heart of the city centre so these figures demonstrate that people are visiting the other commercial areas with its mix of high street names and excellent independent businesses."