A Merseyside town that was once ranked in the bottom 10 worst places to shop in Britain has seen its fortunes dramatically change over the last three years.
Data shared by BBC News showed that the number of visitors to Kirkby town centre had risen by 160% since 2019, the same year the town featured in a poll compiled by The Mirror which listed it as the country’s worst shopping destination. The 160% increase is the highest jump across the whole of the UK at a time when high streets and retail offers have declined in other areas over the same period.
The findings were provided by analysts Placemake.io and Visitor Insights and compiled by examining anonymised phone data from more than 500 UK high streets from 2019 to 2022. In Kirkby, investment in the town centre and the opening of a new retail park are seen as the main factors behind the increase.
READ MORE: A town divided - boom and bust in the shadow of Morrisons
In 2019 the town featured in The Mirror’s poll of worst shopping destinations, which factored in things like vacant shopping units, Knowsley Council made the decision to purchase the town centre from developers St Modwen for £43.8m. With the authority citing failure by the private sector to deliver on its plans, Knowsley Council then drove forward the town centre’s regeneration, which included overhauling the existing shopping centre and building the new retail park.
In October 2021 a new Morrisons superstore was successfully delivered and provided people access to a supermarket for the first time in over 40 years. Fast food chains, a Home Bargains and a gym have also opened on the retail park.
Knowsley Council leader, Cllr Graham Morgan said it has been a “turbulent time for high streets and businesses” but the increase is a “really positive indicator for Kirkby.” The data was also warmly welcomed by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, who remarked that Kirkby has been on an "incredible journey of transformation over the past few years". The Combined Authority had invested £15m from the Local Growth Fund to support Knowsley council’s redevelopment of Kirkby town centre.
The rise in footfall figures will be seen as a good early return on significant investment, but not all business owners across the town were resoundingly positive about the changes when speaking to the ECHO in October 2022. While there had been a clear rise in footfall, there was a feeling a divide had grown between the established town centre and the new retail park.
Peter Taker, whose family fruit, veg and flowers stall has been a fixture of Kirkby market for the last 60 years, feared his business could last “months, not another 60 years” such was the decline in footfall and shoppers at the once bustling market.
Neil’s Quality Meats, run by Neil, a butcher for the last 22 years, has experienced life both on the market and the high street, moving to his current home on St Chads Parade a few years ago. He told the ECHO in October there has been wider frustration around the new retail park based on conversations with his customers.
He told the ECHO: “They regularly tell me ‘we were promised a retail park, and got a fast food park instead’." Of the new units on the new retail park, three are taken up by a McDonalds, KFC and Taco Bell.
Neil said his customers believed this does not equate to the ‘retail’ promises that were initially made. However Knowsley Council pushed back on this claim and said only 4,500 sq ft has been used for ‘fast food’ restaurants – less than 5% in total of the 96,000 sq ft of new floor space in Kirkby.
Reflecting on the new data, Cllr Graham Morgan, said it owes as much to the "commitment of traders and local businesses and local residents too who are ‘shopping local'”, as well as the large amount of investment Kirkby has received.
He said: “I am delighted that Kirkby has been highlighted so positively in this latest research. Clearly the Council’s major investment and regeneration in the town centre has been a key factor in the town’s success but it wouldn’t be possible without the commitment of traders and local businesses and local residents too who are ‘shopping local.’
“It has been a turbulent time for high streets and businesses in recent years so to see this increase is a really positive indicator for Kirkby and will hopefully put the town firmly on the map with new investors and businesses who will see the town as a great place to do business.”
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram added: “Kirkby has been on an incredible journey of transformation over the past few years – and it’s great to see the Townie starting to reap the rewards.
“Having grown up in the area, I know first-hand the real, positive impact these investments will be having on local people’s lives. From opening the town’s first supermarket in nearly 40 years, to the vital pieces of infrastructure we’re building to serve its growing community, and the countless businesses, jobs and training opportunities that have been created as a result – it’s not hard to see why Kirkby is bucking the national trend.
“Working closely with Councillor Graham Morgan and Knowsley Council, the Combined Authority has invested £15m into the town’s revival with a further £80m being invested in the new Headbolt Lane train station, which will open this year. For decades there had been talks of building a new station in the area and, thanks to devolution, we’re making it happen.
“By having local leaders who understand the needs and priorities of their communities make decisions locally, instead of those in Whitehall or Westminster who probably wouldn’t know the difference between Kirkby or West Kirby, we’re transforming people’s lives for the better. Kirkby is a blueprint for what proper levelling up should look like. We’re demonstrating how, with the right level of ambition and local insight, we're turning places that have been starved of funding for decades back into thriving communities – and giving local people a place they’re proud to call home.”
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