Call to get act together to fill city centre’s empty shops

NEWPORT council has been told to do more to fill empty shops in the city centre.

At a full council meeting opposition leader, Cllr Matthew Evans, asked the Newport council leader, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, what the council’s plan was to fill empty units in the city centre.

Cllr Evans noted the old Admiral building, and the new office building – which has stood unused since it was built – on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office in Mill Street.

He said Cardiff had reportedly recorded its highest levels of office space take-up in recent years, and asked why Newport “can’t fill these units”.

Newport’s council leader, Dimitri Batrouni has described the city as “pro-business” but remains tight-lipped on his authority’s regeneration plans.

Cllr Batrouni said the preparation of plans to revive the city “take time” and wouldn’t be unveiled until later the year.

Cllr Batrouni replied: “We’re ahead of you, but we won’t share the details until six months’ on.”

Cllr Evans went on to congratulate the council leader for his position on a proposed tourism tax.

The Welsh Government wants to introduce a levy, likely in 2027, charging visitors to stay overnight in Wales.

Under those plans, councils would be given the option to enforce the levy within their regions – but Cllr Batrouni has distanced Newport from taking up the policy.

In a previous interview Cllr Batrouni said Newport City Council must “adapt and change” to save services.

In November last year the council leader said he local authority is estimating a £20m shortfall in its budget this year, and must change if it is to overcome that challenge.

Early efforts to save money will focus on automating services and moving many application processes – such as blue badge and parking permits – to online-only.

The council also plans to make its buildings more energy efficient, install automatic number plate recognition cameras in some of its car parks, and negotiate better utilities contracts among a host of other measures.

The council does not have to set out its budget plans until January, but Cllr Batrouni said he wanted to “get ahead of the game”.

Like most councils, Newport is facing a budget gap because the cost of providing services has risen faster than any increases in central government grants, and Cllr Batrouni said he and colleagues had to “face the new reality”.