Northampton town centre '˜busier than last year' in run-up to Christmas, claims council

In December 2014, 1,249,511 visitors came to the town. This year the figure was 1,526,974. For the full year, there was an increase of 2.6 percent, from 14,476.969 to 14,859,519.

The number of people using the free car parking increased from 229,813 to 247,986 – up 7.9 per cent.

Councillor Tim Hadland, Northampton Borough Council’s Cabinet member for regeneration, enterprise and planning, said: “These figures prove what we already believed anecdotally – that Northampton town centre is getting busier.

“We’ve worked really hard in recent years to improve the environment, help businesses, and encourage shoppers, and this is clearly paying off.

“But we can’t stand still. We are now making a start on further improvements in St Giles Street, which recently won Great British High Street 2015.”

A spokesman for the borough said: “The council has invested in its Business Incentive Scheme since 2014, helping 29 businesses through £160,000 investment, and creating 110 jobs between April and December last year alone.

“In June 2014, the council increased free parking from one to two hours on weekdays, and stopped charging on Saturdays.”