New centre attracts 25m shoppers

A Derby shopping centre that opened in 2007 has attracted 25 million shoppers in its first year of operation.

The £340m Westfield centre covers 1 million sq ft and has 150 different stores, Westfield centre manager Janine Bone said.

The 450,000 shoppers a week almost represent almost one million more people than predicted when it opened.

Derby has moved up the UK retail ranking table to 38th place - an improvement of 15th places on 2007.

Cathedral area

Some smaller businesses located outside the centre have complained the new development has hit their trade.

Spokesman Ian McMillen of Bennetts of Derby, a local department store established in 1734, said: "There were 25% to 35% less people walking around this area and that means roughly two million less people are walking around past our doors."

A team of city rangers has started work promoting the shops in the cathedral area of the city where Bennetts is located.

The Westfield Centre, which was formerly called the Eagle Centre, was one of the biggest shopping centre to open in England last year.

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Shoppers from across the East Midlands have visited the centre, managers said