Bentley Bridge's bumper summer with record visitor numbers
Bentley Bridge reported record visitors numbers with an average of more than 69,000 vehicles a week arriving during August alone.
The retail park, in Wednesfield, has been a hive of activity over the summer months, playing host to a number of public events including the first Wodenstock music festival and the third annual Wednesfield Canal Festival.
As well as a number of leading High Street brand shops, the retail park is also home to Cineworld, The Nickelodeon pub and a variety of restaurants.
Wednesfield North Councillor Phil Bateman said: “Since its development, Bentley Bridge Retail Park has gone from strength to strength and is holding up incredibly well, as the latest statistics I have seen clearly indicate.
“Some 69,000 vehicles visited every week during August, which is a really important statistic. The fact that 2.5m vehicles have already visited the retail park underlines the importance of the facility here in Wednesfield.
“It boasts some of the largest brand names in the UK and has become an important activity centre and is also a tremendous boost for the city of Wolverhampton’s economy.
“It’s not just the fact that it is perhaps one of the largest centres of its kind in the Black Country, but it is also a ‘shopping city’ that provides some 600 local jobs as well.
“Wednesfield benefits substantially from the economic activity that takes place there as does the entire city, with the business rates being collected from activity helping both government and city finances,” he added.
“Earlier this year I was delighted when the management at Bentley Bridge looked outside the retail park and generously supported the volunteers of ‘Hands on Wednesfield’ and ‘Wednesfield in Bloom’ with a £1,500 donation.
“This donation was kindly accepted and it allowed the ‘Wednesfield in Bloom’ volunteers to plan and finance the wonderful planting that makes us stand out as a community.”
Councillor Bateman added that he felt businesses and individuals in Wednesfield had a long-standing tradition of working well in partnership with one another, which resulted in a strong economic environment in the village and surrounding areas, as demonstrated by the record numbers visiting Bentley Bridge.
