Freeport Fleetwood's record year

Now town centre traders in Fleetwood hope the high street can more successfully benefit from Freeport’s sales boost.

Last year the Freeport outlet celebrated 20 years in the town, and it also coincided with record sales and footfall.

Sales for 2015 were ahead of 2014, with the total turnover the highest it has been for the last 10 years – although Freeport bosses didn’t reveal the actual figure.

Freeport says footfall reached almost 1.3m customers, which was ahead of the previous year for the second consecutive year.

The centre is owned by a company called Hermes, which has contracted Realm Ltd, a specialist retail property company, to manage and operate the retail village.

Last year also saw three new stores open at the Fleetwood site - Beauty Outlet, Christy and Subway.

John Magee, centre manager for Freeport Fleetwood, said: “2015 was a fantastic year for us at Freeport Fleetwood. I am delighted that we have continued to grow in all areas of the business, building on the success of 2014 to generate our highest turnover for the last ten years.

“The new store openings have allowed the centre a new dimension and in particular Beauty Outlet and Subway are further reason for the younger shoppers of the Fylde Coast to visit the centre.”

Robert Brown, chairman of Fleetwoood Chamber of Trade, said: “I welcome the news that Freeport Fleetwood has done well, it can only be good for the town and the local people who work there.

“But I would like to see more of that success spill into Fleetwood town centre.

“In contrast to Freeport, 2015 was a tough year for many traders in the town centre, and for Fleetwood Market.

“Some thought needs to go into how there can be a better link between the town centre and Freeport.”