TRADING in Winchester over the festive period has been “positive” according to the city’s Business Improvement District.

Locals and tourists descended on the city, drawn in by the annual market and ice rink.

Chris Turner, business development executive at the BID, said: “It’s been fairly buzzing and the markets have been packed.

“The shops I have visited passing by in the last few days have been very positive.

“It feels as good as the past few years and I think we all thought it would be worse because of Brexit and the economy.

“It all seems to be doing well - the restaurants are very busy. I think people come for the experience - for some shopping and a bit of a meal.”

He added that trading figures from 85 businesses would be collected by the BID this month.

Claire Connor, who works in interiors store Orchid on Parchment Street, said: “It’s been great actually. We’ve had loads of people over Christmas coming down this road who say they haven’t been for ages.

“This is only our second year but I do think that people are coming into Winchester specifically because of the independent shops.”

Lorraine Carter, at Dinghams cookshop at The Square, said: “We’ve had a great year. It’s been roughly the same as previous years in the lead-up to Christmas.

“When the market opens we certainly see an uplift because of passing trade.”

The city’s retail landscape continues to evolve, with a number of closures and openings in the past year.

The closure of furniture store Multiyork on Jewry Street follows a number of other well-known and independent brands who have gone, including L.K Bennett, Zoe Jewellers, Next, Jaeger and Cadogan and Co.

But at the same time Turtle Bay is due to open in January and TK Maxx are also set to open in The Brooks centre.

Tesco will also move into the unit where River Island used to sit on the High Street, and The Ivy is also set to open in the unit L.K Bennett once occupied, creating 100 new jobs.

Winchester’s performance in the Christmas trading period in 2016 was consistent with national results, with the week before the festivities described as a ‘bumper one’ by The British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Footfall in The Square in December 2016 was 6.8 percent higher than the year before, with footfall in Parchment Street up by 3.2 percent compared to 2015.

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