SHOPPERS in Harrow bucked the national trend in the lead up to Christmas according to shopping centres and major retailers who reported an increase in footfall.
Figures show more people shopped in the town centre last month than in the same period the year before.
They pointed to Harrow Council’s month-long programme of entertainment, giveaways and festive decorations for attracting extra shoppers, which was launched after the borough won £496,000 from the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund.
St Ann’s Shopping Centre manager, Jeff Jackson, said there was a six per cent increase in shoppers.
He said: “We expected footfall to be down in December so we were really pleased to see an increase. All the Outer London Fund activity in the town centre has had a big impact, from the goodie bag giveaway to the festive lights.”
At the St George’s Shopping Centre, footfall was also on up on last December and centre manager Darren Harman said: “In the current climate and with people being very cautious with their money, any increase is very good news.
“We had lots of positive comments from our retailers praising our partnership working with the council to bring more shoppers to the town centre.”
