Study finds Welsh city with highest number of boarded up shops in UK

A report has revealed that a Welsh city has once again topped the list for having the highest number of empty vacant shop units of any town or city in the UK.

The report published by Centre for Cities reveals Newport, along with Bradford and Blackpool, allegedly have ‘double’ the proportion of empty shops than in London.

Analysis has shown that the health of high streets across the United Kingdom has varied significantly, calling for authorities to focus on developing homes and high-paying jobs in central locations to increase local spending power.

‘Business Live’ shared: “A report from think-tank the Centre for Cities reveals a striking divide in the state of the UK’s high street, with city shop vacancy rates more than twice as high in Newport (highest of the 62 cities and towns assessed at 19%) and Bradford (17.6%) as the lowest in London (8.5%) followed by Cambridge (7.4%).”

While Sarah Butler from the Guardian writes: “Retailers have called for a cut in business rates, lower employment taxes and cheaper parking fees to help revive high streets.

“The report found that reforming the “flawed” business rates system was not enough to revive high streets in struggling local economies as many properties already do not pay rates.”

Report

A summary of the report from the Cenre for Cities, shares: “The performance of the Great British high street is seen as a political bellwether, creating a very visual symbol of the success of an area.

“It is for this reason that politicians have long taken a keen interest in them: the term ‘high street’ has been mentioned over 3,300 times in the House of Commons and House of Lords over the last five years.

“When reading research reports and newspaper articles you would be forgiven for thinking that the high street is suffering everywhere. While it has certainly come under pressure from the rise of out-of-town retail, and more recently online shopping, in some centres it is still performing well.

“The clearest examples of this are London and Cambridge, where around one in 10 shops in their city centres are empty. This is in sharp contrast to Newport and Bradford, where close to one in five shops are vacant.

“What drives these differences? This report uses millions of credit and debit card transactions to look at where spending comes from and what it is spent on in city centres.”

Andrew Carter, the chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “Our research shows the high street isn’t failing everywhere. Where it is, the cause is not just cosmetic, it is economic. Policies relating to shopfronts, rents or parking miss the bigger picture.“City centres that struggle are oversupplied with shops and undersupplied with people.

“If local residents don’t have money to spend or a reason to be in the centre, high streets suffer – no matter what interventions are made.”

While Sarah Butler from the Guardian writes: “Struggling Newport, Blackpool and Sunderland also have a relatively high proportion of shops for the population compared with successful city centres such as Oxford, Brighton or Liverpool.”

Criticism

Newport Conservative Campaigner Michael Enea shared: “Newport first hit the headlines in 2018 for having the highest number of empty vacant shop units – just three years after the opening of Friars Walk.”

“In 2018, a City Centre Masterplan presented by Newport Council was lambasted for being just eight pages in length. More recently, a new City Centre Placemaking Plan was criticised for being loaded with cheap ‘quick wins’ and light on heavy investment.”

“Newport Council should invest its £10 million underspend from last year on regenerating Commercial Street North and the High Street.”

View the report in full here.