Backing for council plan to buy and demolish ‘rather ugly’ city-centre building

Senior councillors in Newport have backed a plan to buy and demolish a “rather ugly” building in Commercial Street, arguing it will help “stimulate ongoing regeneration of the city centre”.

The city council is poised to purchase the three-storey property at 166-168 Commercial Street, which formerly housed a WH Smith store.

It plans to use money from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund – which is coming to an end – to complete the roughly £455,000 sale.

Members of the council’s cabinet met on Wednesday to approve the deal, which they said aligned with their aims to revive central Newport.

Cllr James Clarke, the cabinet member for regeneration, told colleagues there was an “oversupply” of commercial units in the city centre, and said Newport’s situation was “probably like any town or city in the UK”.

Breathing new life into the empty building “would require extensive refurbishment”, he added.

The council launched a placemaking plan for the city centre last year, setting out how it wants to improve the look and feel of the area, attract more visitors and usher in prosperity.

But those plans come with a recognition that the golden age of high street shopping has come and gone, and the city centre cannot rely solely on retail if it is to be successful.

Empty commercial units stand out in the city centre, and the council has only limited powers to take action to improve properties when the vast majority of them are in private ownership.

Buying the empty building is a risk, admitted council leader Dimitri Batrouni, but he said “I would argue quite strongly it’s a bigger risk doing nothing”.

“Many people think Newport Council owns the high street,” he said. “The world is shifting markedly. It’s no one’s fault.

“What do we do – sit on our hands or take active steps to change the city centre?”

Demolition of the building is not guaranteed – once it buys the property, the council will consider various options but a report already suggests that knocking it down is the likely outcome.

Following the meeting, Cllr Clarke said: “By taking advantage of an opportunity to purchase this block, we can then look at the best way to use the site in the future that will bring benefits to that area. At the moment, these rather ugly buildings are an eyesore and are only likely to deteriorate further.

“They do not meet current demand for retail because of their size and one unit has been vacant for a considerable time. A significant amount of work would be required to bring them up to modern standards.

“We are not closing our minds to any alternative use but, at the moment, it appears demolition would be the best option so the space could be used in a new way.”