Edinburgh shoppers vote with their feet

Footfall figures for Edinburgh have revealed a 17 per cent increase in city centre pedestrians, giving an encouraging sign of the city's retail sector's ability to withstand a recession.

The study by Edinburgh City Council has shown that from June to August, an average of 345,764 pedestrians took to Princes Street, whilst daily figures reached as high as 90,655 outside Marks and Spencer in the east end of the busy shopping thoroughfare.

Similarly, there was an increase of 34 per cent on the High Street, and increases of between 20 and 25 per cent on George Street.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, economic development convener for the council praised the results. He said: “These figures show that despite the economic downturn, Edinburgh continued to do well over the summer period and that our city centre is still seen as a vibrant place to visit and shop in.”

The system counts the number of pedestrians in specific areas 24 hours a day. 18 counting "pads" were strategically placed around the city centre, including on Lothian Road and Shandwick Place.

The largest increase reported was outside the Lothian Buses shop on Lothian Road, which saw a jump of 38.5 per cent in footfall.

The findings have been welcomed by the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, whose chief executive, Ron Hewitt said: “A thriving city centre is key to Edinburgh’s self image and the face we show to the world.

"Good footfall reflects a healthy economy, not just from the retailers who benefit but for the hospitality and entertainment sectors also, and the feel good factor which keeps Edinburgh a desirable place to live and work.”

However, it has been acknowledged that the study was conducted before the onset of many of the current financial problems facing consumers, and the difficulties with city centre access after the closure of the Mound junction to accommodate tram infrastructure work.

It is so far unclear what effect this will have on city centre footfall.

Cllr Buchanan warned that the city would have to continue to work hard in order to build on these increases, saying: “We're not complacent about this and we continue to work to encourage people to come into the city centre, including expanding our Christmas parking promotion to cover November.

"We're also still committed to delivering the 'string of pearls' concept which will see the potential of Princes Street as a mixed-use retail, business and leisure destination maximised."