Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:00 pm on 14 February 2017.
Well, I think that councils do a good job of encouraging businesses, but landlords also have to play their part. Landlords have to understand that the days of being able to charge an unrealistic rent for a long-term lease are gone. They're not there anymore. It's hugely important that landlords are flexible and they look to encourage pop-ups for those businesses that want to test the market for three months but don't want to get involved in a lease that's five to 10 years long. Landlords will find that, by doing that, they will potentially fill their shops, because some of those businesses will not succeed, some of them will succeed, and if they do, of course, the landlord then has a longer-term tenant. So, it's not just down to councils, in fairness; it's also important that landlords are able to work flexibly to provide opportunities for businesses for the twenty-first century.