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BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Footfall in Bradford city centre is rising - but is spending?
After a year of severe disruption in Bradford city centre, the number of people visiting to shop or eat is going up. There has been a 25% increase in footfall in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2024, according to the Bradford Business Improvement District (BID).The organisation, which represents 600 firms, said last year's figure was severely impacted by roadworks to pedestrianise parts of the centre, and the unexpected closure of the main bus station. But has this resurgence translated to increased spending in independent businesses? The BBC asked traders whether they have seen the high street start to recover. Amy Berry manages The Cake'ole cafe in City says: "I think it's been a lot better. The buses coming back (into the Interchange) have fixed a lot of the problems. "And then especially with all the events that City of Culture 2025 has brought in. We've had a lot of footfall, it's been pretty good." Ms Berry, 27, has worked in the cafe since it opened in 2019. "We were still trying to come back from Covid. A lot of people were still a bit scared to come out. "It's definitely a lot busier than we were then. "But I think we're now maybe back to where we were pre-Covid, maybe even a bit busier." The pedestrianisation work was part of a £48m Transforming Cities investment which was supposed to be completed before the start of Bradford's City of Culture was only finished in May - five months after the cultural showcase's opening Interchange was closed for safety reasons in January 2024 after a chunk of concrete fell from an underground car park, and only fully reopened this month. Ibrahim Eryatmaz runs Benim furniture shop on Market Street. He says: "I think more people are on the street because Market Street is open for pedestrians. "I can see there are more people but business is still low. "For us it's very low now but if you sell coffees, maybe small items, maybe for them it's potentially better. "But we are a furniture shop and who's passing along this street doesn't have a big effect for us."The 52-year-old did praise Bradford Council, which has halved business rates to encourage more traders to set up in the city centre. But he says many Bradfordians are still cautious when it comes to spending their money on bigger items. John Varey opened his florist's shop with his wife Lisa at the start of the year and has had a promising first few months of trading."I've seen massive growth from when I first moved in. "Obviously we moved in in winter so we can't really gauge it compared to last year apart from figures."We got the sales figures from the shop from last year and we've kind of almost doubled what they were doing." Mr Varey, 58, says the high rents being charged by private landlords who are often not based in Bradford does not help businesses thrive in the city Leeds and Wakefield have seen increases year-on-year in the number of people coming into their centres while Halifax, which is undergoing a £64m town centre improvement project, has seen a Noble, chief executive of Bradford BID, says the 25% footfall boost has to be viewed in the context of a very low starting point last year. "There is no doubt that 2024 was a tough year for city centre businesses due to ongoing roadworks and the sudden closure of the Interchange."However we're now seeing strong signs of recovery."We know there's still work to do, and we're under no illusions - regenerating the city centre takes time and continued effort."He highlights events like the BID's recent Soapbox Challenge as well as those organised by the UK City of Culture 2025 team and the council as reasons why more people are coming into Bradford. Mr Noble adds that he is "optimistic about further increases in footfall, dwell time, and overall business confidence." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Empty shops in County Durham prompt 'ghost town' fears
The number of empty shops in County Durham is at its highest rate ever, a report has Bishop Auckland, and Newton Aycliffe are the worst hit, while Ferryhill, Shildon, Consett, and Barnard Castle have also suffered heavily in the past vacancy rates recently increased to 18.3%, compared with the national average of 14.4%.However, one local retail consultant said work was being done to tackle the issue, adding "despite all the challenges, we continue to see good-quality independent and national businesses opening and seeking space in the region's town and city centres". High streets across County Durham have continued to suffer when high-profile retailers leave prominent sites, with closures fuelled by changing shopping habits and rising number of pharmacies, banks, and supermarkets have also decreased, but there were about 33% more takeaway outlets in 2024 compared with 2014. 'Work together' The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the report, Ghost Towns: The Decline of the High Street and Health Inequalities, argued for more "people-friendly" spaces, with seating, public toilets and pedestrianised areas to increase Soult, a North East-based retail consultant, warned that the declining state of local high streets should not be sensationalised."Local place leaders on the ground, in this region and beyond, are already working hard to tackle those issues and help facilitate the very change that the report's authors advocate", he in Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor have been invited to take part in decision-making and new powers such as High Street Rental Auctions, to help redevelop derelict properties, are set to be introduced in Darlington. Mr Soult, who previously worked on the government's High Streets Task Force, said: "It is particularly disappointing that the report does not provide a platform to celebrate case studies of the good practice it is pushing for."The question we need to be asking is how we can all work together to make even more of that good stuff happen." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Kingswood businesses ask council to rethink parking charges
Businesses owners have warned that new parking charges pose a "significant threat" to the future of their independent Gloucestershire Council introduced the car park charges across its area on 19 May covering 08:00 until 18:00, Monday to businesses on Kingswood High Street have come together to write an open letter asking the council to re-think the move, which sees drivers charged 70p for the first hour in short stay car parks, rising to £5 for up to four member for communities and local place, Sean Rhodes, said the council needed to bring in the charges due to the £2m black hole in the council's budget. Parking in long-stay car-parks range from £3 for the first four hours, up to £5 for six Tadghighi owns Quest Boutique, which has been in Kingswood for 40 years, and said she has already seen a loss to her business."Figures have gone down in the last few days," she said. "I've had customers coming in saying they can't spend more time [here]."They're always going to be watching the clock. The high-street will die. "We want to stay, we want to give something to the community but it's like they [the council] don't want a high street anymore." In the open letter traders said that "numerous local residents have voiced their frustration... stating that they will now travel to neighbouring areas where free parking is still available". "This shift in shopping behaviour poses a significant threat to the viability of Kingswood's independent High Street businesses," they Carter manages the Market Café Longue and indoor market on Regent's Street and is a contributor to the told BBC Radio Bristol that she was "so despondent" reading messages from the public who do not want to visit Kingswood with the changes in place."I hope by putting our message across as the business owners that we [show] we care," she said. "We want it to be better and this is really going to have a negative impact on us." Mr Rhodes acknowledged the letter and said the council continues to work closely with local businesses on the regeneration of the said the council has engaged with businesses "all the way" through the process, adding that the charges are low compared to Bristol."We really wrangled over the cost of this for a long time and that's why we settled on what I think is a relatively low price," he said."Councils across the country are really up against it financially."When we came into administration we were left with a £2m annual revenue generation budget line from the previous conservative administration."
