07:07 Friday 28th June 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: It seems that Peterborough city centre is seeing something of a revival. New figures from the Queensgate shopping centre show that footfall has risen by 4% since November last year. The opening of discount clothes retailer Primark in November last year has contributed to a 4% rise in shoppers at the Queensgate centre. .. Meanwhile there’s something of a cafe culture emerging. Now nearly 300 seats available for outdoor dining across the city centre, and Cowgate has been much improved, after an £800,000 revamp. .. Rachel Parkin owns Reba, a gift shop on Cathedral Square Peterborough. She told me her shop hadn’t felt the benefit of the city centre revamp any time yet, and felt independent shops need much more help. (TAPE)
RACHEL PARKIN: Any increase in footfall is a good increase. That’s what we want, and we want more people in the city centre spending longer in the city centre, so as the people before have said, this is about the whole offering of the city centre. But the independents are really woefully under represented and under funded, I think. If you compare them to the massive investment that’s gone into bringing other things into the city, the independent retailers are kind of left to themselves really, if I’m honest with you.
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