City centre is busiest in the UK according to new data prove

HIGH FOOTFALL AND SPENDING RANKS ABOVE EVEN LONDON

- WILLIAM TELFORD

PLYMOUTH has the busiest city centre in the UK according to new research. A study of the country’s strongest and weakest high streets has revealed Britain’s Ocean City has the highest city centre footfall and came second overall for shoppers’ appreciation of bricks-and-mortar retail.

The research, by retail intelligence organisation Small Business Prices, showed Plymouth has the greatest high street footfall of any UK city, including London. Plymouth came in second place overall for having a “thriving high street”.

The report said: “This coastal city logged the highest footfall on both weekdays and weekends, with a score of 176 and 186 for each respectively. This is compared to a pure lockdown baseline of 100, suggesting that Plymouth has actually seen an increase in the number of high street visitors since the end of lockdown.

“This was followed by Southend-on-Sea, which recorded the second highest footfall across the week, and Swansea with the third highest. Meanwhile, London saw the fewest number of feet hitting the high street in comparison to pre-lockdown levels, scoring just 59 on weekdays and 87 at the weekend.”