Council's footfall figures a worrying trend for taxpayers' Market Walk | Chorley Conservative Association Skip to main content
Site logo

Main navigation

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Campaigns
  • Volunteer
  • News
  • Events
  • Surveys
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • facebook
  • twitter
Site logo

Council's footfall figures a worrying trend for taxpayers' Market Walk

  • Tweet
Sunday, 3 February, 2019
  • Local News
  • Opinions
Chorley's Market Walk

In a recent press release, Chorley's Labour council published promising footfall figures at the council-owned Market Walk shopping centre for selected periods over Christmas.

But a freedom of information request made before the Council statement made by campaigner and armchair auditor Peter Malpas, instead shows a decline in footfall at their shopping centre investment over the last few years. 

Chorley is not on its' own in this respect as online shopping takes its toll.

Taking the busiest Christmas quarter alone as a key benchmark, footfall has fallen from 1,209,413 in the period October to December 2015 to 994,954 in the same period this last year, a 17.7% fall over the three successive years.

Christmas Quarter Footfall

ANNUALLY, footfall fell from 4.24 million in the 12 months to June 2016 down to 3.8 million in the year to the end of December 2018, a decline of 10.3% or just over 437,000 over two and a half years.

Market Walk Footfall

 

FALL IN VALUE

We are now left wondering what the footfall was when the Labour council first bought the shopping centre in December 2013 for over £23 million.

In August last year we reported how the centre had lost £2.34 million off its' value to the year 2016/17.

Opposition leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Alan Cullens, added  "the overall trend reflects what is happening in retail nationally and raises deep concern for not only the proposed extension to Market Walk but existing shopping.

Conservative Councillors have long expressed the view that investment should be going into improving the existing shops, supporting the markets and small unique businesses that make Chorley a true Market Town."

BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 

Kemi EXPOSES Labour’s welfare ticking time bomb

Kemi EXPOSES Labour’s welfare ticking time bomb

Friday, 11 July, 2025
Welfare Spending is growing out of control, and Labour and Reform are adding fuel to the fire.

Show only

  • Articles
  • Local News
  • Media
  • National News
  • Opinions
  • Reports
  • Speeches
  • Speeches in Parliament
  • Westminster News

Chorley Conservative Association

Footer

  • About RSS
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • About Us
  • Get a postal vote
  • Get Involved
  • Join the email newsletter
  • Make a donation
  • Where you live
Donate now
  • facebook
  • twitter
Promoted Peter Malpas on behalf of Chorley Conservatives both of Britannia Buildings, Drumhead Rd, Chorley. PR6 7BX
Copyright 2025 Chorley Conservative Association . All rights reserved.
Powered by Bluetree