A city shopping centre has reported higher footfall this festive season than before Covid-19.
Glasgow Fort said visitor numbers were greater than the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019 in its first trading update of the year.
The shopping and leisure destination revealed that its retailers also reported an uplift in sales compared with last year’s festive period, "with sportswear and footwear seeing particularly strong figures".
The centre said restaurants and cafes “were also busy as friends and families enjoyed the return to a normal festive period following the pandemic”.
Phil Goodman, centre director at Glasgow Fort, said: “Against a very challenging backdrop, we’re really pleased with our Christmas period, with footfall in December up more than 4% on last year and 8% on 2019.
“We’re home to a broad selection of retailers – both in terms of price point and the size of their business, supporting local independents and some of the nation’s biggest brands – and we know how important this festive season was for all of them.
“It was fantastic to see that some of the newest stores at Glasgow Fort had a particularly strong festive season, with our enhanced offering received really well by shoppers.
“It’s the first ‘real’ Christmas we’ve had for years, and we certainly saw evidence of people going the extra mile to celebrate with their loved ones – whether that was dining out, spending quality time together, or buying an extra special gift.”
ScotRail trains contract awarded to French company Alstom
Rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has been awarded a £12 million contract to carry out mileage-based modernisation of ScotRail’s Class 334 fleet of 40 trains operating between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The contract was placed by Eversholt Rail. Eversholt leases the trains to ScotRail, which was renationalised by the Scottish Government last year.
Plans submitted for hundreds of new homes
Cullross, which specialises in "affordable housing", has submitted plans to build hundreds of "much-needed" homes on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
The development is proposed on land east of Glennie Road, Newcraighall, near Musselburgh.
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