‘We need to see something positive happening’ in city centre

Newport City Council “should be pushing harder to get potential businesses into the city centre”, a councillor has claimed.

Cllr Carmel Townsend said “we need to see something positive happening” in the area following the departure of big-name brands.

In a written question to the council leader, she highlighted the closure of several large commercial sites – namely Debenhams and Cineworld – in central Newport and the uncertainty over their future.

She also noted the council’s ongoing deal with Friars Walk, under which the local authority makes annual payments of up to £500,000 to the shopping centre’s owners to cover any shortfall in rental income.

Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, who leads the local authority, said the council holds regular meetings with the owners of Friars Walk, who he said are “constantly seeking to secure new occupiers for the centre”.

“There has been interest from potential occupiers but due to commercial sensitivities I am unable to provide any further details at this time,” he added. “The centre owners are working hard to find new tenants, and with footfall in the city centre being up by 2.6% compared to last year I am hopeful that it is only a matter of time before there is some good news to share.”

A spokesperson for the council said it has not had to pay the full £500,000 subsidy every year since the deal was signed in 2017.

Even if that full sum were paid, “the overall outgoings over the 15 years for which the agreement operates would still be less than the £8 million the council gained” when it signed the deal, they added.

The spokesperson also said the terms of the deal meant the council could receive additional rent payments “if the centre’s profits exceed certain thresholds”.

Following the leader’s response to her question, Cllr Townsend, a Liberal Democrat representative of the St Julians ward, said it was “pleasing to hear that footfall has increased, however small that increase is”.

In January, Cllr Batrouni was asked about the local authority’s regeneration plans for central Newport, but was similarly tight-lipped about the details.

Speaking at the time, he told a meeting the council was “pro-business” and was working on plans, which he expected to unveil in more detail in the summer.