THE Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) has expressed concern that retail footfall for December 2013 has declined by 8.7% compared with the same time last year according the NI Retail Consortium survey.
NIIRTA Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said:xa0“NIIRTA is disappointed that once again Northern Ireland has the worst decline in retail footfall in the UK. An 8.7% decline is a major cause for concern and we are surprised as a number of our members had reported an increase in footfall and sales in December”
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Glynn Roberts, NIIRTA Chief Executive.[/caption]“The Executive needs to produce a comprehensive joined up Town Centre plan covering Business Rates, Planning Policy, Car Parking and Regeneration”
“This new plan should include the creation of Retail Incubator Units to support the next generation of retail entrepreneurs and a new Vacant Shop Strategy”
“The Executive should organise a major conference to bring together international experts in retail and regeneration to identify how other towns and cities across the world have successfully dealt with these problems and more importantly, how we can learn from them.”
