The Welsh Government should help town centres and reduce the commercial advantages of out-of-town retail parks by offering lower business rates, according to Plaid-led Caerphilly County Borough Council.
In evidence to the National Assembly’s Business and Enterprise Committee, the council said: “Out of town developments possess many commercial advantages over town centre shops as they are cheaper to build, invariably have large amounts of free car parking, are of a larger scale and are in single ownership and thus easily marketed.
“Government could do much to redress the balance by considering differential business rates between in town and out of town stores, by supporting and encouraging local authorities to employ town centre managers and by using its call in powers if planning authorities are minded to favour out of town developments.”
Councillor Ron Davies, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Town centres are at the heart of our communities and ensuring their vibrancy is vital. The Plaid-led council believes reducing business rates would give retailers a significant boost in these difficult times and also encourage more businesses into our town centres and help them thrive.”
He said that Caerphilly Council had moved to counter the trend for out-of-town retailing by identifying town centre retail sites in its development plans and then actively assembling the sites, often with Welsh Government support.
He added: “This has been the case in Caerphilly, Blackwood, Ystrad Mynach and now Bargoed, all of which have or will have accommodated large new foodstores within easy walking distance of the rest of the town centre.”
The Assembly Business and Enterprise Committee is conducting an inquiry into town centre regeneration.
In evidence, the council also called for on the Welsh Government to re-instate the Urban Regeneration Grant and that it be funded directly from departmental budgets to developers.
“It is most unfortunate that the Urban Regeneration Grant mechanism was abandoned when the Welsh Development Agency was absorbed into the civil service.
“This was apparent in the recent protracted negotiations to support the proposed retail development in Bargoed town centre. Lacking any clearly established mechanism for financial support a clumsy and time consuming arrangement was devised whereby the Welsh Government has provided a Heads of the Valleys grant to Caerphilly, which, in turn, is providing a grant to the developer. Tripartite negotiations on the grant and accompanying legal agreements took place over a 10 month period. But only in the final months was it clarified how the grant would be financed and what would be the procedure for approving it.”
it strikes me that the councle may have bean able to do more for small bisness if they hadt bilindly refused to a resionable increse in councle tax and stoped whasting money.
as for free parcking at Out of town shops why not stop charging peaple to use car parcksd in towns and jest limit the stay. such as no staty longer than 3 houers?
its jest like the plid councle to call on outhers to fix somthing they can fix them selfs
Again too little too late, Caerphilly`s non policy on urban regeneration is leading to the creation of an urban slum in Cardiff Road on the pattern of City road Cardiff, betting shops, takeaways and charity shops. The Council could refuse planning permission for such development but it doesnt.
Are we able to take it, that the suggestions, put forward to the Assembly, by Caerphilly CBC
"to provide town center managers",
And, to redress the balance between out of town and town center shopping areas with free parking arrangements are working in Caerphilly as the Caerphilly Council have done both.
It does surprise me that Plaid Cymru did not attack the issue of damaging business rates once and for all and for all time, when they were in partnership power in the Assembly over the last four years.
I also believe from comments made by a former Planning Committee Chairman and current Cabinet member of Caerphilly Council, that it not as easy to refuse planning applications as may be suggested by Phillip Scott. Unless of course you are a ratepaying householder (and not a property Company with interests in letting commercial premises in town centers),then of course you face the full force of dreconian planning rules and even more dreconian applications of those rules by planning officials and Councillors alike.
I think Caerphilly shopkeepers would welcome a reduction in business rates, why would they refuse it but more needs to be done to make a visit to the Town a pleasant experience. By far, the biggest issue is parking – it's dreadful! I know that CCBC are able to monitor footfall through the Town Centre and deliver reports to shopkeepers but is there any profiling of visitors to determine their locality. in other words are the main users of the town centre shops, local people who can walk into town? Ron Davies has commented that major food stores have been attracted to Town centres…are we short of food stores then? We need more Independant and niches businesses!