Collaboration is Key to Revitalising Newport City Centre

Newport City Council has long recognised the challenges facing high streets today and the need to move away from a heavy reliance on retail. Transforming the city centre’s fortunes is not something that can happen overnight or by the council on its own.

However, we have to look at what we have in the city centre, rather than what we don’t have. We acknowledge that there are empty shops – but there is much going on that is positive and promising for the future.

Last September just over 20 per cent of units were empty in the city centre and 303 – or 60 per cent – were occupied by independents. In February, when the latest data was collected, less than 20 per cent were empty and 327 were occupied by independents.

Footfall has continued to increase, bucking Welsh and UK trends. In 2024, it rose by 2.6 per cent compared with the previous year and in December, showed a 7.3 per cent rise with the previous year and an even bigger increase compared with the previous two years and a 3.8 per cent rise in January.

In the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic, the footfall count was 826,262. In the first quarter of 2024 there was a big increase compared with the post pandemic year of 2022 when it rose from 797,052 to 880,291 and in the first quarter of this year it rose again to 911,446.

The latest data, for the week 28 April to 4 May shows a 13 per cent increase on the previous year compared with a 4.2 per cent rise in Wales and 3.7 per cent in the UK.

We work extremely closely with a range of partners in the city centre, particularly Newport Now, the business improvement district, and we offer incentives for new businesses. For example, over the last few years we have had a bespoke business rates reduction scheme for the retail, leisure and hospitality sector on top of the Welsh Government’s scheme.

It’s been great to see some new businesses opening up, including exciting leisure experience The Underground in The Kingsway which seems to be flourishing under its new owner, and established businesses showing their commitment to the city centre such as Hays Travel which reopened following a refurbishment of its Llanarth Street branch.

Newport Market and Newport Arcade are thriving following significant regeneration and work is also underway to encourage more use of the refurbished Market Arcade.

There is a lot going on in the city centre, if people look beyond the empty shops. There is a vibrant music scene in independent venues and a cultural offer that includes theatres, the museum and art gallery.

And we have had some fantastic events that bring thousands of people into the city centre including the city’s first Winter Wonderland in the run-up to Christmas; the inaugural Music Trail and Festival of Words in March, and the ever-popular Newport Food Festival which takes place each autumn. With the support of partners, we hope these will continue.

We have more people living in and visiting the city centre. We have a mixture of affordable and private sector homes across the city centre, and it is important that there is a balance.

Debenhams is not currently empty as claimed and some of BhS is now occupied by Barclays Bank – underneath the four-star Mercure Newport Hotel. M&S has a popular food hall in Friars Walk and a full offer store in Newport Retail Park within the city.

It is disappointing that a Welsh Government report is repeating the outdated, and inaccurate, ‘Newport has more empty shops than any other city in the UK’ message without any qualification or clarification.

That research is four years out of date and was disputed by the council when it was first published. The assessment did not appear to differentiate between vacant units and units that were then in the process of being refurbished or redeveloped, such as Newport Market.

It is also important to note that only 63 cities and towns were surveyed, probably around a third of the total number of cities and large towns in the country. The research was done before recovery from the pandemic started and the picture has improved significantly since then and continues to do so.

Many of the properties in the city centre are privately owned, often by absentee and neglectful landlords but work is ongoing behind the scenes with our partners to address the number of empty retail units.

Unfortunately, some of the major chains occupied very large shops which are not as attractive to retailers today. And some of the empty properties are not in a good condition.

Compulsory purchase orders are often cited as a solution to this problem, but they are not the ‘magic wand’ some people seem to think. Significant resources are required, not just for compensation for the owners as required by law, but because the council must have a plan for the buildings or the land they occupy.

It is unlikely that the council could deliver this on their own or quickly as the CPO process can be a long one, particularly if there are challenges. The draft place making plan has recently been published which sets out some ambitious proposals for the city centre for the next 15 years including dealing with large, empty units but this would be a long-term priority, not an overnight fix.

There is no such thing as “free” parking as someone has to pay – either businesses themselves through their rents or council taxpayers if they are council-owned. The city centre also has a mixture of car park ownership so free parking in council car parks could adversely impact the private sector which would, no doubt, lead to complaints that it is unfair. Car parking charges are also reasonable when compared to those in other towns and cities.

We would urge people to take the time to read the proposals in the draft place making plan. They have been driven by the community and the council will help the community deliver them.

It is the easiest thing in the world to stand outside and criticise but by working together we can and will make a difference. We are already seeing things taking root and there is more to come – some of it will happen quickly and other things will take longer, but I believe we will get there.