Trams and credit crunch blamed as footfall dwindles

Published on Thursday 26 March 2009 08:58

THE economic slowdown combined with the tram works have been blamed for leaving Edinburgh trailing other UK cities on the number of people visiting its busiest shopping streets.

Latest footfall monitoring figures reveal the average weekly pedestrian count across the city centre was 107,654 during 2008 – 23.5 per cent below the UK average.

Some of the city's biggest retailers are suffering the most – figures outside Harvey Nichols on St Andrew Square revealed a 30 per cent drop in footfall between December 2007 and December last year. It is the first full year which figures for footfall have been available.

The festivals season in August saw the number of visitors rocket to 25 per cent above the UK average, with close to 500,000 pedestrians a week counted on Princes Street.

The following month, however, saw this fall away to 25 per cent below the national average, with footfall figures also remaining low in October as a result of failed diversions for tram works at The Mound.

The biggest footfall recorded was outside Marks & Spencer on Princes Street, where an average of 304,299 passed every week last year.

City leaders today said a string of new hotels and shops planned for Princes Street, along with a long-awaited revamp of the St James Centre, will help boost the city centre in future years, a view shared by property experts.

Mark Robertson, a partner at property firm Ryden, said: "The credit crunch caused several national retail chains to go into administration, resulting in a number of inevitable casualties in Edinburgh's city centre.

"However, recent initiatives such as the reopening of St Andrew Square and the pedestrianisation of Castle Street have improved shopper movement and helped boost the central core by attracting a number of new retailers."

Other economic indicators released by the city council today show that the number of retailers requiring property in the city centre space decreased by five per cent in 2008.

The number of people parking their cars in the city centre dropped by 16.6 per cent, a fall largely blamed on the tram works.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the city's economic development leader, said: "There is no doubt that global economic conditions have impacted and that 2008 was a difficult year, as it was for cities across the UK.

"The council's efforts to support business are now more vital than ever."