Dudley town centre enjoyed a big boost in footfall numbers during Dudley Market’s recent programme of summer fun days, new figures have revealed.

The market ran three ‘Themed Thursdays’ fun day events during July and August, giving visitors to the market place a chance to enjoy mini golf, Lego building, an interactive magic show, Scalextric racing and more.

More than 24,000 people came into Dudley town centre on Thursday 27 July, the day of the first event.

Hourly footfall peaked at 3,662 visitors while the Lego and mini golf activities were in full swing between 12pm and 1pm. It was also the busiest day of the week for visitor numbers.

The third fun day on Thursday 10 August also proved popular with visitors to Dudley. 2pm to 3pm was the busiest hour of the week for footfall with around 3,000 people in the town centre as families enjoyed a giant Scalextric track in the marketplace.

Nearly 18,000 people came into the town on the day of the event. Town centre footfall on the days of all three events was well above average for Thursdays in 2023, even during the rain-affected second fun day on Thursday 3 August.

15,500 came into Dudley on the day, nearly 500 more than the average figure. Dudley Council’s business chief welcomed the strong footfall numbers recorded during the summer fun days. Councillor Paul Bradley, deputy leader of Dudley Council, said:

"It was brilliant to see Dudley Market looking so busy with lots of families enjoying the sunshine and some great free activities.

"The excellent footfall figures recorded during the fun days show the potential of the market as a place for events. As a council, we’re committed to reviving the market and making it a popular focal point in Dudley town centre.

“Our intention is to build on these recent family fun days to ensure the town continues to benefit from the high number of visitors that events like these attract.

"We want to be able to welcome new businesses to a thriving local market and transform Dudley into a great place for them to trade."

Scott Simpson, general manager of Tudor Markets, added:

"Our programme of Themed Thursday events at Dudley Market was a big success with a fantastic atmosphere at all three fun days.

"We’d like to thank everyone who made the events possible and everyone who took part in the fun."

Tudor Markets is currently looking for new traders to hire stalls at the historic open-air venue based in Dudley town centre.