Pill can “thrive again”: Commercial Road traders share hope for future

Sitting in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge – a stone’s throw from the docks – it has played host to plenty of businesses over its 200 year history, from pubs to florists, hairdressers, and grocers – all serving the close-knit community of Pill.

It’s fair to say that it’s fallen on hard times in recent years – its image has been dented by issues with prostitution, drug dealings and other criminal activity.

But walking down Commercial Road on a Thursday afternoon, and it’s difficult to ignore that there’s an air of optimism about the place – new shops are popping up all the time.

A view of Commercial Road heading with the Transporter Bridge in the distance.

It’s clear that this is a community of traders who are incredibly hard-working and take pride in what they do. Most of all, they look out for each other.

Ann Barton is a popular face on Commercial Road – her florist is one of the area's longest-serving traders, approaching almost 40 years.

She’s seen plenty of changes in that time, but says she’d never take her florist anywhere else.

“I love it down here,” Ms Barton said.

“I just love the people in Pill – there’s a wonderful community down here.”

Ms Barton, whose family all hail from Pill, used to sell her flowers out of the local greengrocer – since then, she’s moved more than ten times to different units along Commercial Road.

“It’s a shame they can’t get some of these problems on the road under control,” she added.

77 year old Ann Barton has run her florist for on Commercial Road for more almost 40 years.

“We’d all love to see it get back to what it once was – I know that you can’t go back in time, but you can certainly stop the problems from going any further.

“But I’ve always been treated with respect down here – it doesn’t matter who I’m dealing with.”

Ms Barton said she is worried about the future of Newport city centre, but urged the council to focus more on the city’s independent businesses.

“I had the shock of my life when I saw all the empty shops in town,” she said.

“It’s much busier down here on Commercial Road than it is on Commercial Street.

The outside of Ann Barton's florist shop.

“But it’s the little shops like mine that keep the city going. Without us, things would be much worse. We look after the council, but they don’t necessarily look after us.

“There’s a lot of people down here in Pill that have set up their own shops and I say good luck to them because we want everybody to do well down here.”

Further down Commercial Road and you’ll get to Clare Food Store – one of Pill’s many world food shops, which has been in the area for more than 20 years.

Clare food store is also a popular trader on Commercial Road.

Run by the father-son duo of Muhammed and Balal Amin, the pair say traders see good opportunities on Commercial Road.

“There’s definitely a lot more popping up now,” Balal Amin said.

“It’s good because it’s bringing more people to the area and showing what Pill has to offer.

“We have seen a lot of change here – yes there are challenges but the shops here all look out for each other and there’s a strong community."

Balal pointed to parking being a problem for some stores on Commercial Road.

“There’s a bit of an issue with parking at the moment – given that there’s plenty of people working in the shops," he said.

“It’s something that definitely needs to be looked in to.”

There's been plenty of shops opening up on Commercial Road recently.

At the point where Commercial Road gives way to Alexandra Road, NB Cash and Carry is now sporting a fancy new sign above its shop front.

The store has been in its current home for six years but has been a feature in the area for more than ten years.

Its owner Belal Ahmed says the boom in shop openings is a huge positive for the area.

“If you have more shops open, it’ll attract more people to this end of town,” he said.

“It’s just in need of a little attention, that’s all – people down here are still incredibly hopeful that things are changing."

Mr Ahmed added that traders wanted to work with Newport City Council to help make the area more attractive to shoppers.

The new sign about NB Cash and Carry.

“There’s sometimes a bit of miscommunication between us and the council – we want to work with them and help them out," he said.

“It’s things like clearing up the pavements and some of the other areas that get a bit messy. But the current rate relief we’ve been receiving through covid has been a huge help for us.

“There’s things we can all do – there’s things I can do that’ll help improve things.

“But there’s new shops opening all the time – people can see there’s a chance to do something good here and we all believe that Commercial Road can thrive again.”

This is part of a series of 'Newport: Our City' articles looking at what makes Newport a special place to live, and what lies in store for the city in the future.