Towns bounce back faster than cities
Hope for high streets after virus
TOWN centres are recovering from the lockdown faster than big cities, according to research.
Figures out today for 63 centres found the average number of people out and about in the last week of May was just 22% of pre-lockdown levels.
But there was a notably higher per cent of footfall in our towns compared with our cities.
This has led to Centre for Cities, the think tank that did the analysis, to urge the Government to consider ways to boost the high streets, fearing many jobs could be at risk.
Centre for Cities’ statistics come from its new High Street Recovery Tracker, which uses anonymised mobile phone data to measure footfall.
It found in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield there were just 17% of pre-crisis numbers. In Cardiff, the quietest place, the figure was just 11%.
In sharp contrast, Aldershot in Hampshire was at 57% of what it had been before pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops were ordered to shut in late March. The Essex towns of Southend and Basildon’s levels were back to 53% and 49% respectively.
Others in the fastest-recovering top 10 were the seaside towns of Worthing, West Sussex, and Blackpool, as well as Mansfield, Notts; Slough, Berks; Birkenhead, Merseyside; and Blackburn and Burnley, both in Lancashire.
The finding gives hope that high streets, especially in towns, will get a further boost when tens of thousands of non-essential shops reopen from
Monday. The Daily Mirror is calling on the public to back those businesses with our Shop for Britain campaign.
One theory why big cities are quieter is because many offices remain closed, with people working from home.
Andrew Carter, chief executive at the Centre for Cities, said: “While every part of the UK has seen the effects of Covid-19, its economic consequences are being felt very differently across the country. This early indication suggests that many of our biggest cities – where millions of people live and work – may struggle to get back on their feet.
“If high street footfall does not increase as lockdown eases then it could put many city centre jobs at risk as the furlough scheme is phased out.
“The Government should consider ways to boost demand on the high streets once they reopen – VAT cuts and cuts to alcohol duty are one way to support retailers and pubs.”
Meanwhile, a survey by accountancy giant EY found that 45% of people think the way they shop will change over the next one to two years.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) said they expect to go shopping less often but spend more when they do.
While 67% said they expect it will take months or years before they return to a restaurant. Some 80% said it could be months or years before they feel comfortable visiting a cinema and 73% felt the same way about returning to pubs and bars.