Trago Mills boost to Merthyr Tydfil town centre trade

Trago Mills opened in April, nearly 30 years after a store was first proposed on the site

A £65m store overlooking Merthyr Tydfil has brought more people into the town centre, councillors have been told.

Officers said footfall was up by more than a quarter in the 10 weeks after Trago Mills opened on Swansea Road, compared to the 10 weeks before.

Councillors heard there had been concerns that shoppers would desert town centre traders for the new store.

Enterprise manager Lance Whiteley said demand in Merthyr was at "an all-time high".

Merthyr council's regeneration and public protection scrutiny committee heard that 320,000 people visited the town centre in the 10 weeks up to Trago Mills's opening in April and 411,000 in the 10 weeks after.

Chris Long, the council's economic development manager, said the figures had "taken us by surprise", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"There was a lot of nerves and jitters about Trago coming," he told the meeting on Tuesday.

"There was a fear the town would close but it is not - it is kicking on."

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Mr Whiteley explained that footfall data for the town centre was recorded using Geosense, a technology which counts everyone's mobile phone as they enter or leave an area.

He added that the system could tell whether people were visiting Merthyr town centre for the first time or returning, but did not reveal anything else about them.

Councillor Malcolm Colbran welcomed the insights, saying: "There is a high percentage of people who haven't visited before - hopefully they are coming back again."