1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd on 4 December 2019.
4. What initiatives does the Welsh Government have in place to improve the economy of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire? OAQ54788
I'm pleased to say that we have a number of initiatives for improving the economy of the whole of Wales, including, of course, Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. These are set out in the economic action plan and include investing in people, in places and businesses, through skills, infrastructure and direct business support.
Thank you for that, but I would like to know how that really translates into action. Last weekend was the Pembroke castle Christmas fair, and it was a great event. Loads of people came into Pembroke to go to the Christmas fair, but as I walked back to my car, which was the other end of Pembroke high street, it really brought home to me yet again the death of that high street. When I first moved to Pembrokeshire some 15 years ago it was a vibrant, busy high street, it had a supermarket there right in the centre of the town, it had lots and lots of individual shops—it had the butcher and practically the baker and the candlestick maker. But now it's just—what do you call those people who do racing bets? Betting shops, that's it—[Interruption.] Bookies. Thank you. I didn't want to mention their name—I can only think of their name. [Laughter.] I wasn't trying to advertise them. [Laughter.] [Interruption.] Thank you. No, don't.
So, it's bookies, it's charity shops, and everything is pretty much boarded up, and I do wonder what we can actually do to bring the kind of life back into that type of high street, because if it's not Pembroke, it's Pembroke Dock, and it's becoming Narberth, which has been a jewel in the Pembrokeshire crown for a long time. Whitland—dead on its feet. St Clears—going the same way. The traditional shops are closing down, but I don't see how these policies of yours can be translated. And I know that the Conservative manifesto is planning to establish a market town fund to help improve the local economy, and I notice that you did mention an initiative to my colleague Russell George, but I just wonder if you could expend on that, because it's desperately sad to see these great towns wither away on the vine.
Absolutely, and this is not a problem that is confined to the Member's constituency. We can point to town centres right across the UK and beyond, where there are struggles because of changing consumer behaviours. And it's absolutely right now that we focus not just on retail as a process of an exchange of goods and money, but retail as an experience, and some of the most successful town centres and high streets are ones where there is a vibrant atmosphere, where there are activities taking place on a very regular basis, where we don't just have retail, but a very strong mix in terms of the businesses that operate there.
The 'town centre first' initiative that I mentioned in answer to Russell George is being led by Hannah Blythyn, who is here right now. I will ask Hannah to provide more detail to Members regarding this particular initiative.FootnoteLink It does include the development of more business improvement districts, because I think it's absolutely vital that businesses own responsibility as well for improving the vibrancy of the high street. What I've been able to appreciate is that those towns that are most resilient in the face of on-line purchasing are those that offer a good number of activities like Christmas fairs and so forth, and in my own constituency, those town centres and village centres as well that are thriving in the face of challenge are those that bring people in for various activities on a week-by-week basis.
I think it's also important to say that whilst we all wish to support Small Business Saturday this Saturday, the principles that underpin Small Business Saturday should apply to every day of the week and every week of the year, and it is important that we as Members encourage our constituents to support town centres. It's all too easy sometimes for us ourselves to end up, just for the sake of convenience, popping to a supermarket rather than to go into a town centre. We do need to lead by example. That's something that I will commit to doing myself, not just on this Saturday, but thereafter. But I do think that the 'town centre first' initiative and the encouragement of more business improvement districts, which are a proven intervention, will lead to a greater degree of vibrancy in our town centres.