A LEADING councillor has made further predictions for Stafford's success in 2012 after figures showed the number of shoppers in the town enjoyed a 15 per cent hike during November.
Last week the Newsletter revealed the town was the second-best placed town in Staffordshire to stage a recovery this year, according to the Institute for Public Policy and Research.
Now it has been shown that the town enjoyed a bumper build-up to the festive season, despite a one per cent dip nationally.
Ben Adams, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for economic growth, said he hoped the increase would be a sign of wider growth in the region and the opening of the council’s new £38million Tipping Street headquarters had played a part in the recovery, "Stafford is proving to buck the national trend by a significant margin in terms of town centre visitors - a 15 per cent increase in November compared to the same period the previous year. This compared to a national average of a one per cent decrease. “We believe this was in no small part due to the opening of Staffordshire Place and relocation of more than 1,000 of our employees into the town centre.
"This all points to increased prosperity in Staffordshire in 2012 - something the county council is proud to play a leading role in, " he said.
There were also positive signs for Rugeley - which was given a poor forecast by the IPPR - with Cannock Chase placing 358th out of 406 local authorities nationwide.
Top online retailer Amazon, which opened one of its main distribution centres in the town last summer creating 900 jobs, announced it took three million orders nationally on December 5 alone.
Mr Adams continued: "Our towns and retail centres play a vital part in Staffordshire's economic growth. "The county council is playing an intrinsic part in the vitality of town centres and attracting businesses which bring employment and visitors. By providing an attractive retail offer we can ensure both our residents and visitors will spend money here which has positive benefits for the whole community. This is improving the quality of life for people in Staffordshire and securing more jobs locally."
