NEWPORT is bucking the national trend of declining visitors after experiencing one of UK’s biggest year-on-year increases last month.

The city saw a 7.6 per cent rise in the number of city centre visitors during the wettest June on record, compared with the same period last year.

The findings from the National High Street Index, supplied by researchers Springboard, showed that while shoppers fell by 5.5 per cent year-on-year across all UK high streets, Newport was the ninth highest climber last month.

Overall 27 of the 85 high streets looked at saw a rise and figures for Wales as a whole were up by 1.8 per cent. But Cardiff sawa 1.6 per cent drop, Bristol’s numbers were down 1.9 per cent and Swansea’s decreased by 4.5 per cent.

Leader of Newport council Bob Bright said: “If these figures can be taken as read then they are pleasing and with progress being made on our city centre retail and leisure development there will be more reason for people to visit Newport in the near future.”

But Ken Ellis, president of Newport Chamber of Trade, was cautious about what the figures actually mean.

He said: “Increase in footfall is great news for the city centre. However, footfall has been deteriorating for a long time so while 7.6 per cent is a step up it is from a low base.

“The fact that Saturday is not the biggest day for trade of the week is concerning still and shows shoppers are still being attracted to Cardiff and Bristol.”

He said it was now even more important that plans to bring department store Debenhams to the Friars Walk development moved quickly in a bid to boost confidence with traders.

But city shopkeepers deny they have seen any increase.

Chris Taylor, of Shotts provisions stall in Newport market, said trade was getting worse.

He said: “I would like to say there has been an increase in shoppers, but there hasn’t.”

Alex Pisani of JP Stores, selling rugs and carpets, said: “We haven’t had any increase - definitely not. It’s very quiet, there’s hardly any passing trade.”