New figures suggest Nottingham's shops should have had a better Christmas in 2012 than they did the year before, with four per cent more people on the city's streets during December than in the same month a year previously. (January 25)
It's not so important as to how many people visited the city centre in any given time, but how much they spent while they were there.
You could have a million people visit in a week, but if they were all window shopping, it would be useless.
But if you had just a few thousand people in a day each spending hundreds or thousands of pounds across a variety of shops then that would obviously be better for city centre businesses.
As with so much in life, it's not the quantity, it's the quality that matters.
the-crossed
A number of city centre car parks offered reduced prices leading up to Christmas (Victoria Centre was free during some periods) and footfall was up… surely a coincidence? ;)
by kevinward76
And yet in November, when there weren't free parking initiatives, there was a bigger rise. So it looks as if reduced-price parking puts people off coming into the city, and clearly the council should be charging more. See, I can do silly things with statistics, too."
FormerlyW
Dunkirk Fire Station, which closed four years ago, could be transformed into a science and technology academy for 860 teenagers. (January 23)
Sorry to be negative, but this would be a REALLY bad site for an academy. In the shadow of the Dunkirk flyover, and potentially very hazardous for 14 to 16-year-olds. Traffic round this part of the city in the evening can be a nightmare!
altheboss
A really poor location for a school but a an excellent one for a fire station: right by the ring road.
Nick2812
Surely the site isn't big enough and the extra traffic will cause gridlock?
ian_bridgford
Which dimwit thought it would be a great idea to stick an academy teaching 600 14-16-year-olds within spitting distance of a major route into and out of Nottingham?
It is already a traffic hotspot; any further demands on the road network nearby will bring it to a grinding halt.
Beany