City centres received a boost when Covid restrictions ended, but many people remain reluctant to return to offices, new research suggests.
Freedom Day on July 19 led to people heading out to socialise in pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, according to the Centre for Cities.
The think tank said night-time footfall in the centres of the UK’s 63 largest cities and towns rose by 16% after the final lifting of restrictions.
But daytime worker footfall fell by 1% in the last week of July, said the report.
People across northern England were keenest to head for an evening out, especially in areas including Blackpool and Sunderland.
The lifting of restrictions brought less good news for cafes, shops and other businesses catering to office workers, the study indicated.
Data from 31 of the largest cities showed that fewer than one in five people have returned to their city centre workplace.
With average footfall remaining at just half of pre-Covid levels, the UK’s cities are still a long way off full recovery, said the think tank.
Centre for Cities’ director of policy and research Paul Swinney said: “It’s a mixed picture as the country takes its next steps back to normality, both for different types of businesses, and for different places.
“People’s eagerness, particularly in cities in the North and Midlands, to go out and socialise has been a lifeline for many businesses in the night-time economy.
“But a reluctance to head back to the office in our largest and most economically important cities means that people in the so-called ‘sandwich economy’ that caters to city centre office workers are facing an uncertain future as we get ever closer to the end of the furlough scheme in September.”
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