Newport has more empty shops than anywhere else in Britain

As many as one in every three retail units in Newport city centre, or 33 per cent, are said to be vacant at this time.

This includes shops, restaurants, and other commercial property.

Of course, anyone taking a stroll through Newport city centre could hardly fail to see the extent of the problem, with empty shops on virtually every single street, but according to research institute the Centre for Cities, no other city has a higher percentage of empty shops anywhere in Great Britain.

The problem certainly hasn’t been helped by high profile departures such as Debenhams, but the research - published in the Cities Outlook 2022 economic assessment, suggests that the volume of empty shops is more of a worry than one or two stand-alone closures.

A key factor behind the more recent decline, unsurprisingly, is the Covid-19 pandemic, and the devastation it has caused to the high street.

According to the study, the pandemic has cost some city centres in Wales almost half a year’s worth of potential takings since March 2020 – including Newport.

By this metric, Cardiff was worst affected, losing 43 weeks of sales, while Newport is thought to have lost 22 weeks of potential income.

In prosperous city centres, lost sales are linked to an increase in business closures. In Cardiff city centre the number of empty storefronts increased by around six per cent as sales fell – the fifth highest rise in Great Britain.

However, central Newport has more vacant units than anywhere else in Great Britain.

While the exact number in Newport is not known, across the 52 city and town centres studied, 2426 commercial units have become vacant during the pandemic, against 1374 between 2018 and 2020.

Read more: Newport shops and businesses we’ve loved and lost in 2021

Is there any cause for optimism?

High streets in economically weaker places have been less impacted by Covid-19. Meanwhile in economically stronger places, business closures increased during the pandemic.

This suggests that the Government’s Covid-19 support successfully stalled the decline of many struggling high streets but was less effective in economically stronger places due to higher rents and a lack of custom from office workers.

That said, while stronger city centres have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic, their higher levels of affluence mean that, if restrictions end and office workers return, they will likely recover quickly.

Read more: The shops and restaurants opened in Newport in 2021

What has been said about the findings?

Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “While the pandemic has been a tough time for all high streets it has levelled down more prosperous cities and towns in Wales.

“Despite this, the strength of their wider local economies means they are well placed to recover quickly from the past two years.”

“The bigger concern is for economically weaker places – primarily in the North and Midlands – where Covid-19 has actually paused their long-term decline. To help them avoid a wave of high street closures this year the Government must set out how it plans to increase peoples’ skills and pay to give them the income needed to sustain a thriving high street.

“Many of these places are in the so-called Red Wall so there is a political imperative for the Government to act fast, as well as an economic one.”