‘Nothing short of a rebirth for the city’
COUNCIL CHIEF HAILS BIG REOPENING AS VISITOR NUMBERS ROCKET
VISITOR numbers in Manchester were above even pre-pandemic levels last week as town hall chiefs said the city centre was starting to ‘come back to life.’
When non-essential shops and pubs were allowed to reopen for the first time since Christmas on Monday last week, visitor numbers were up 193 per cent compared to the previous week, and were up 17pc on Market Street compared to the same week in 2019, before the pandemic.
From Monday to Saturday overall footfall on Market Street was up 20pc compared to the same period in 2019.
The number of journeys made across the region also shot up.
On Tuesday, 6.2m trips were recorded on Greater Manchester roads, up by 468,000 (8pc), on the previous week. Across public transport there was also a significant uplift. The number of bus journeys rose by 41pc to 260,000, and the Metrolink journeys were also up by 59pc (17,000 trips).
In total 350 ‘pavement licences’ have been issued to hospitality venues to allow them to seat customers outdoors.
All outside spaces are visited each day by a team of council, City Co and Greater Manchester Police officers to review their management whilst a team of council ‘Covid Marshalls’ are also patrolling busy areas such as St Ann’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens.
A number of streets including Thomas Street, Edge Street and Stevenson Square have been made traffic-free and the council says it is possible some of these could become permanent. “The council is now taking the opportunity to consider how these arrangements might be sustained as part of refreshed thinking around the city centre and its infrastructure,” they said in a statement.
Council chief executive Joanne Roney said: “This last week has felt nothing short of a rebirth for the city. “It’s been wonderful to see shops open again and the city really start to come back to life in all this glorious spring weather which has helped ensure cafes and bars in the city centre can trade safely outside. Manchester is a city of reinvention, of creatingopportunity out of adversity–and we are at our best when we work together, listening and doing things differently.
“Opening the city up with increased public space, working with businesses to open safely, finding new ways of working to make sure the hospitality industry can operate outside. Innovation has been key. “Being a city centre resident myself, it has been remarkable to see this work play out, and it’s with big thanks to our fantastic businesses and partners - such as United City group - who have helped us re-imagine the city post-Covid. Of course, this is not without major challenges and safety must continue to be at the forefront of our thinking. But for a city of reinvention – and recovery – there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”