Chelmsford is defying national consumer gloom this week, attracting thousands of shoppers to its New Year sales.

Shoppers packed the town centre from Sunday, with the High Chelmer centre reporting a 67 per cent pedestrian increase on the same Sunday last year.

Throughout the week, customer levels were up by seven per cent, with shoppers filling car parks to capacity.

One major store reported a 26 per cent increase in takings on last year.

Town centre manager Cathy McBride said: "It has been brilliant -- very busy. This is very optimistic for Chelmsford, we have certainly bucked the national trend."

She praised efforts by Chelmsford Borough Council, retailers, churches and charities for their work up to and during Christmas.

High Chelmer manager Mick McDonagh said that partnership and pre-Christmas shopping events had paid off.

"We are delighted," he said. "Chelmsford is going into the new year on a high, and we need to maintain that."

The town's Meadows shopping centre reported Sunday and Monday as the busiest shopping days of 1997, with the number of shoppers 15 per cent up on last year.

Manager Malcolm Tilsed, who is also chairman of Chelmsford Retailers' Association, said: "Chelmsford Borough Council, the town centre management and the retailers' association work very well together to promote Chelmsford as safe and clean and a nice place to shop.

"People talk of recession, but Chelmsford shows that if you do things right, you can be successful."

Increased numbers of shoppers were also reported in Braintree, Witham and Maldon.

In Braintree, a successful Christmas and New Year has meant shopkeepers are holding their own in the face of national consumer gloom.

Traders in the town's George Yard and Phoenix shopping centres, as well as High Street and Bank Street, are reporting an increase in customers' spending power over the festive period.

Vice chairman of Braintree Chamber of Trade and Commerce Sylvia Thorogood said the past few weeks had been especially good for the smaller specialist shops and the town's traders must now be ready to take up the new opportunities offered by the planned opening of Braintree's new out-of-town factory village in 1999.

"It is clear Braintree is going to keep on growing and through presenting ourselves well and using tourist information we have got to attract the people who will be coming to the district into the town centre."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.