Pedestrian footfall in Selkirk finally rose in 2012, after it declined 30 per cent from 2007-2011, an annual survey by Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has revealed.
SBC reported the encouraging sign of a one per cent increase of shoppers using Border town centres in 2012, which compares with successive decline over the past two years of 7.9 and 7.6 per cent across the region. All the surveys took place on Fridays and Saturdays during the months of September and October.
A growth was noted last year in all town centres except Peebles and Hawick, which fell the most dramatically from 8,190 in 2011 to 7,480 in 2012. Selkirk’s footfall increase was only slight, from 2,580 in 2011 to 2,660 in 2012, but it represents the first rise in four years for the Royal Burgh.
Last year in August The Wee Paper reported SBC’s findings that pedestrian footfall in eight towns across the region dropped by 17 per cent in four years – with Selkirk the hardest hit, losing 30 per cent of its shoppers.
Commenting after the encouraging signs shown by SBC’s latest survey, Councillor Stuart Bell, SBC’s Executive Member for Economic Development said: “This survey does give some grounds for hope. The council is very conscious of the vital role that our town centres play in the economic and social life of the Borders and will continue to promote projects aimed at improving their future prospects. Projects have included town centre improvements in Melrose and Galashiels, and there are town heritage projects in Kelso and Selkirk being taken forward.”