Shoppers flock in increasing numbers to Leeds city centre
THE shopping streets of Leeds are getting busier, with footfall up 5% so far this year in the city centre.
Specialist cameras, which capture footfall in key areas of the city centre, have captured footfall of 55m visits in 2014. In the three weeks up to last weekend, there were 4.5m visits to retail areas, which was up slightly on a year ago.
Cllr Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and the economy, said: “This has been an incredible year for Leeds and it’s fantastic to see that reflected in these figures.
“In the face of tough economic times, Leeds has consistently bucked the national trend and we’ve seen both our leisure and retail offering grow and improve so we can now confidently say the city has more to offer than ever before.
“With Trinity Leeds and the first direct arena already attracting huge numbers of people to the city, we also had the unforgettable crowds that flocked to the Grand Départ this year.
“Combined with other exciting events like Light Night and the German market, this has created a real buzz around the city centre throughout 2014 and I’m sure we can continue that next year.”
City centre footfall is recorded using automatic footfall cameras positioned across the city centre, in areas including Briggate, Albion Street and The Headrow, which record the number of people walking past a certain zone.
