2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 25 January 2022.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 2:35, 25 January 2022

Business Minister, I'd like to call for a statement by the Minister for Economy, please, reacting to the news that one of our major cities, Newport city centre, has more empty retail units now than any other city centre in Britain. Llywydd, in its heyday, Newport was the beating heart of retail in Wales—people flocked to the city centre to do their shopping from far and wide. We now see a bleak picture, after years of neglect by this Welsh Government treating Newport as Cardiff's poor cousin, and bad management from the local Labour council in Newport. One in three retail units stand empty. Even before this pandemic, Newport was reported to be one of the worst-performing cities in the UK in terms of shop vacancy rates, but this of course now has been exacerbated by the pandemic, moving Newport's future into a worrying place. Little has been done to attempt to bring new anchor stores into the Friars Walk development to attempt to combat the devastating departure of Debenhams, the key anchor store in the Friars Walk development, coupled with the cinema complex. I would be grateful if the Minister could outline in his statement whether he and the Welsh Government intend to step in to help Newport City Council tackle the increasingly worrying issues that Newport businesses are facing, and of course the adverse knock-on effect that that has on everyone across my region, and, indeed, Wales. Thank you, business Minister.