Shoppers vote with their feet

Jan 29 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

A TEESSIDE shopping centre has bucked the national trend by announcing footfall increases for a second year running.

While many other shopping centres in the UK have experienced a year-on-year decrease in visitors, Castlegate Shopping Centre in Stockton attracted an extra 3,300 visitors a week in 2007 - 2.67% up on its 2006 numbers.

John Clift, Castlegate’s centre manager, said he believed the shopping centre’s ability to resist the national decline was due to a combination of a strong tenant mix and popular promotions such as competitions offering trips to Lapland and Disneyland as prizes.

He also puts the success down to the centre’s free car parking policy.

“It is obviously a winning combination and people are voting with their feet,” he said.

The Castlegate Shopping Centre, owned by Redleaf V1 and asset-managed by Lathe investments, regularly attracts over 12 million visitors a year.