CITY shops excluding those in Westfield saw visitor numbers rise by more than a quarter in the run-up to Christmas.

According to figures released by Derby City Council, footfall in the city centre, outside of the Westfield shopping centre, was up 25.6% last month compared to December 2010.

Last week the Derby Telegraph reported that footfall at Westfield was up by 2.9% over Christmas.

Now the council has revealed that the Cathedral Quarter and St Peter's Quarter both attracted their highest number of visitors for five years.

When Westfield opened in October 2007, other shopping areas in Derby saw a dramatic slump in visitors.

It has taken years for areas like the Cathedral Quarter to recover.

Simon Ingham, managing director of Bennetts department store, in Iron Gate, said: "We were certainly very busy during the Boxing Day sales.

"As a business we have worked hard to improve and make ourselves a destination store."

Martin Langsdale, chairman of the Cathedral Quarter management group, which drives activities under the area's Business Improvement District status, said the festive footfall figures were proof the area had reinvented itself.

He said: "The figures are excellent, particularly in Iron Gate, which has established itself as a fantastic and high-quality retail destination.

"The increased footfall throughout the area is testament to the hard work that the businesses have put in – both collectively with events such as the Santa's Grotto and music in Blacksmiths Yard, and individually to promote this area as a destination of choice.

"The figures are proof that an area as individual and diverse as the Cathedral Quarter is increasingly popular with the general public who want high-quality goods and services.

"We have entered 2012 and are approaching our fourth anniversary as a business improvement district in high spirits."

Another area that was hit hard by the opening of Westfield was the St Peter's Quarter, which includes St Peter's Street, Babington Lane and Green Lane.

Stephen Jeffery, chairman of the St Peter's Quarter Board, said that he hoped to build on December's figures.

He said: "The footfall figures in the St Peter's Quarter are encouraging but, more importantly, we will be using them as a benchmark to measure the impact of all the exciting improvements planned for the coming year under the area's new business improvement district status.

"We are therefore confident that visitor levels will be even better in future years as the benefits of the BID and the profile of the St Peter's Quarter as a destination in the city start to bear fruit."

Leader of Derby City Council Councillor Philip Hickson was also pleased.

He said: "I'm delighted that footfall was incredibly strong in Derby's streets in the run-up to Christmas.

"The city centre was bustling with Christmas shoppers and in Christmas week we saw the figures up by almost 50%.

"These exceptional figures were the highest since 2006 and are an immense boost to Derby's economy and reputation as a retail destination in the East Midlands."