SHOPPERS are continuing to check out Chorley after the town’s shopping centre revealed it had a great end to 2018 and this year is looking promising.

Over the week of Christmas the number of visitors to Market Walk rose by 17.1 per cent, compared to the same week in 2017 and the first two weeks of 2019 showed increases of four per cent and 2.4 per cent.

Market Walk, which is owned and managed by Chorley Council, shows that Chorley town centre is continuing to defy national trends, even with major redevelopment going on, which will see Market Walk extended to include a six-screen cinema and other leisure and retail units, such as M&S Food and Loungers.

The shopping centre’s footfall figures have also revealed a rise in footfall of 3.9 per cent the week after the town’s Christmas lights switch on. It led to increases in footfall all the way through to the end of the year and was bolstered by Chorley Winter Wonderland, with footfall up by 1.1 per cent for the period that the attraction was in town.

Cllr Alistair Bradley, the leader of Chorley Council who oversees Market Walk, said: “This is fantastic news for Market Walk’s existing stores and for any retailers that are thinking of choosing Chorley for business.

“The national picture isn’t great with many other shopping centres seeing a massive decline in visitors and some well-known names closing stores.

“However, this is not the case in Chorley where we have a good mix of high street names and independent retailers, giving shoppers even more choice.

“Market Walk has got an exciting year ahead with the development of the extension and as a council we have been working hard to improve the town centre infrastructure around it.

“We have introduced more parking, including decked parking on Friday Street, which is directly opposite Market Walk.

“We’d like to thank shoppers and visitors for bearing with us while this work is going on and for continuing to support shops and traders in Market Walk and Chorley town centre.”

Malcolm Allen, chairman of the Chorley Traders Alliance said: “Parking is a lot better in town.

“Last year, there was a lot of controversy generated by the market when people could not park but it is different now and the council have got it right.

“The additional parking on Park Road and Friday Street are helping and we have noticed a lot of different visitors to shops.”

Market Walk’s footfall figures are recorded at the three entrances to the shopping centre. There are currently 34 shops in Market Walk with a further eight units in the new extension. The extension to Market Walk is due to open in December.