Council targeting ‘vacant and derelict’ buildings in bid to improve city’s appearance

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Some of Newport’s long-standing “vacant and derelict” properties are being targeted by the council in a bid to improve the city’s appearance.

A scrutiny committee heard, on Monday, that the council had drawn up a “priority list of unsightly properties”.

It will use regulatory powers to “tackle the appearance of these properties, with a view to seeing them refurbished and brought back into use”.

Charles Street

Buildings in Charles Street and Upper Dock Street are among the city-centre premises on the council’s target list.

Several properties in Commercial Road, Pill, make the list, as does the fire-damaged former Lawns Club in Maindee and a former drill hall near the Kingsway Shopping Centre, Tracey Brooks, the council’s head of regeneration, told the committee.

The former TJs nightclub building, in Clarence Place, was on the list – but while it remains empty and has “some outstanding works” left to be done, it is where the council has “seen much success in terms of visual progress”, she added.

Ms Brooks also named the old Maltings building off the A48, which was handed an enforcement notice in 2023. The council report notes works are “being undertaken on The Maltings to protect it from further deterioration”.

Enforcement powers

The council can use planning enforcement powers to compel owners of private property to make improvements to buildings, if it is deemed they are unsafe or at risk of further damage.

This includes listed buildings, but the council report notes enforcement is “not resulting in the reuse of empty properties”.

The council says a “collaborative approach will be taken across all service areas” to try and improve the look of those target buildings and bring them back into use.

As improvements are made, they will be removed from the list and replaced with others.

“We’ve got to target so many at a time… just to focus our efforts,” explained Ms Brooks.

Limited powers

Generally speaking, councils only have limited powers to tackle privately-owned empty properties, and so-called absent landlords may not even reside in the same area as a building they own.

Newport Council, in the new report, said “formal enforcement powers continue to be used where necessary” in its efforts to crack down on the issue.