The £130m extension to The Centre, Livingston, Elements Square, which opened in October 2008, has helped attract over 12 million shoppers during 2009.

Around three million additional shoppers descended on the Livingston shopping centre last year compared to 2008, despite the challenging economic climate.

In addition, The Centre, which now spans nearly 1million sq ft and features top brand names such as Debenhams and M&S, boasts pulling power and has attracted shoppers from outwith the immediate area such as North Lanarkshire and the City of Edinburgh.

Alison Niven, Centre Director, is delighted with the bigger and better shopping destination's success.

She said: "We expected the new extension to increase footfall but attracting over 12 million shoppers was well ahead of expectations.

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"We were confident Elements Square would provide West Lothian, and indeed Scotland, with a stunning new shopping destination and enable us to enrich and widen our offer with some of the best brands around, including Next, River Island, Topshop, Topman, H&M, M&S and Debenhams - names which rival any traditional high street.

"It is also fantastic to find that more people from the likes of Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Stirling and Edinburgh are choosing to shop in Livingston, and we remain confident that this year we can keep up the good work."

The yearly footfall figures come on the back of a successful festive period for The Centre, with numbers on December 28th peaking at 57,000 - up an impressive 50% in comparison to the same day in 2008.

Elements Square was built with the modern day shopper in mind, featuring double height glass shop fronts, terracotta and zinc walls and granite flooring - materials traditionally used in outdoor developments - to help give the feeling of shopping on the high street indoors, enabling customers to meet, relax and eat, whatever the weather.

The Centre boasts 155 shops which cover fashion, jewellery, giftware, homeware and is home to five restaurants – Nando's, wagamama, Ask, Chiquitos and Tony Roma's enabling shoppers to enjoy dining out late into the evening.

(GK/BMcC)