Councillor disputes Cheshire East footfall data reliability

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 06:32 · Archive

A Sandbach councillor has challenged Cheshire East council's claim that town centre footfall is up, saying the mobile phone tracking data used is unreliable.

Sandbach councillor Nicola Cook challenged the council's footfall figures at a meeting of the corporate and governance scrutiny committee. The council had stated that footfall in town centres was up by five per cent compared to the same time last year, based on data generated by mobile phone activations.

Cllr Cook argued this method is unreliable, particularly in commuter towns like Sandbach where vehicles are stationary for long periods and may contain multiple mobile phones. She said local businesses and residents reported footfall was down, not up. 'If the metric's telling us a story that's not correct, what's the point in the metric?' she asked, noting the council pays for the data.

Council leader Nick Mannion acknowledged the limitations of the approach. 'It's not ideal, it's a proxy indicator,' he said, adding that both central government and local councils have used mobile phone mast data for some years. He asked if officers could review the data and how it was assessed. Mannion also noted that shopping patterns in town centres have changed, as residents no longer visit weekly for shopping as they once did.

How it is being reported

• Councillor questions claims footfall is on the up in Cheshire East towns'The businesses are telling us that footfall is down, residents are telling us that footfall is down'Cheshire Live · 21 Oct, 06:00
• Councillor questions reliability of data which claims town centre footfall is risingA Cheshire East councillor has challenged the council’s claims that footfall is increasing in the borough’s towns arguing the data its figures are based on isn’t reliable.Northwich Guardian · 19 Oct, 17:22

In this story: Nicola Cook · Nick Mannion · Cheshire East · Sandbach

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