Record crowds flock to St Annes as summer footfall soars back to pre-pandemic highs
St Annes has enjoyed its busiest August in years, with more than 277,000 visitors flocking to the town during a record-breaking summer.
The impressive figures, captured through footfall monitoring funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, show an 8% rise in visitors to St Annes compared with last August – taking numbers back to pre-pandemic levels.
Nearby Lytham also enjoyed a boost, with footfall up 7.3%, while Kirkham continued to see strong community support following its £10m Kirkham Futures Programme, attracting almost 190,000 visitors in August – around a third from the local PR4 postcode area.
St Anne’s Road West saw particularly strong growth, welcoming increasing numbers of visitors every month since February.
Coun Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council, said: “These record-breaking footfall figures across our towns demonstrate that Fylde continues to grow as a premier destination.
“The amazing refurbishment of St Annes Square has created a beautiful heart for our town, and our local traders have worked incredibly hard alongside these improvements.
“The momentum we’ve built this summer sets us up perfectly for the festive season ahead.”
Locals and tourists packed into the town’s independent shops, cafes and restaurants, helping businesses enjoy a strong summer trading period.
The town’s packed calendar of summer events also helped drive numbers, with the St Annes International Kite Festivaldrawing thousands of spectators to the seafront, the St Annes Music Festival bringing live entertainment to the heart of town, and the Lytham 1940s Weekend offering a nostalgic step back in time.
Fylde Council hopes to keep the positive momentum going through the autumn and winter months, with upcoming events including Fylde Fest: In the Square in St Annes on Saturday, October 25, the return of the Christmas Markets to Ashton Gardens in December, and festive light switch-ons in Lytham, Kirkham, Ansdell and St Annes.
Details of upcoming events can be found at www.discoverfylde.co.uk/events, and full footfall data is available at www.investinfylde.co.uk/fylde-footfall-updates.