A BUSINESSMAN in Blackwood is unhappy with figures from the National Assembly for Wales that show the town has seen a dip in footfall.

Steven Reynolds of the Maxime Cinema on the High Street believes that cannot be the case and says that his business and others ‘are thriving’.

Last week, the South Wales Argus reported that official government figures showed Blackwood, along with the majority of Gwent towns, had experienced a fall in footfall of 22 per cent from 2007 to 2015.

Mr Reynolds, owner of Four Seasons Entertainment, said: “We have double the admission figures we were expecting when we opened the cinema two years ago and when I speak to other businesses in the town and people all I hear is that the town is thriving.

“We operate on the belief that a trip to the cinema being a habit rather than a treat and that’s why we are seeing thousands come to the cinema each week and I know that is why other companies such as Costa Coffee have come to the town.”

Mr Reynolds confirmed that since the £1.5 million cinema opened two years ago, more than 670,000 people have attended a screening.

He added: “Very few cinemas like the Maxime are in the centre of the town and we know it can have a positive impact on other shops and food establishments around it where an out of town cinema can’t, and that is why it was chosen to be invested in.

“Personally when I see figures of footfall being down I am very sceptical especially when I hear they are done in one specific location, I don’t think that’s right and we know that Blackwood has overtaken Caerphilly as the most popular town in the borough.

"When we do a postcode check, there are always a lot of people coming from near-Cardiff, it’s good for the town to pull people in.”

According to the figures, Blackwood become the most popular high street across Caerphilly county last year with the second highest footfall in Gwent behind Newport.

However, like the majority of towns, it showed a dip in numbers from 41,615 in 2007 to 32,562 last year. Figures for 2016 have not yet been published.

Blackwood councillor Nigel Dix added: “We are aware of footfall problems and I know this is something that is happening across the country because of a range of things such as benefit changes, after all if you haven’t got the money then you can’t spend it.

“But we have had a lot of investment in Blackwood with new shops such as Costa Coffee opening up because they see there is potential there. Our film festival has been a real success and we are becoming a cultural hub for South East Wales.

"One of the many reason I feel Blackwood is a success is due to us having a two man dedicated team with huge experience covering it and helping promote it where others have done away with theirs.”