HALESOWEN saw the greatest footfall recovery rate of any place in the UK after non-essential shops reopened last month, research has revealed.

Researchers from the High Streets Task Force found that Halesowen had the biggest bounce back out of all shopping destinations in the UK after non-essential shops reopened on June 15.

The national research examined how high streets are recovering from lockdown and found that more shoppers were out and about in Halesowen in the the week commencing June 15 than the same time last year.

Footfall volume in the town actually increased compared to the same time last year, with the research indicating that there was almost 120% of last year's footfall volume for the equivalent week in 2019.

Professor Cathy Parker, research lead for the Task Force, attributed Halesowen's success to it being a "multi functional town" that serves the local population for their everyday needs.

The news has been welcomed by retail leaders in Halesowen.

Adrian Oliver, director of Tansor REC, which owns The Cornbow shopping centre said: "The footfall success is testament to the support of Halesowen’s loyal shoppers and the dedication of the centre’s management and frontline teams.

“It’s a testing time for businesses, but the Cornbow, and the loyalty of its shoppers, has continued to shine through, strengthening, and adding to, our healthy line-up of retailers. Thank you Halesowen.”

The encouraging figures show that shoppers have faith in their high street in Halesowen, according to Vicky Rogers, manager of Halesowen Bid.

Vicky said: "We're thrilled to see the results of this research. These figures are a testament to the passion and dedication of the businesses here in Halesowen.

"Our aims during the reopening period are simple, to welcome members of the public back to our town safely and emphasise the message that Halesowen is open for business.

"We've worked hard with our local traders and Dudley Council to ensure that visitors to Halesowen feel safe and confident to shop locally. These figures prove that the Halesowen public have faith in our high street and in turn this will drive more footfall to our businesses."

The study also found that footfall in England on June 15 was 49.4% of the volume it was on Monday June 17 2019.

Halesowen was the only place in the West Midlands to make the top ten, with Portsmouth and Bromley ranking in the second and third place respectively.

Regionally, the West Midlands saw the biggest footfall recovery in England, with research recording 52.7% of the previous year’s footfall. In comparison, Greater London, which recorded 31.8% of last year's footfall.