Pontypool high street without businesses for people to go to

If you walk through Pontypool town centre, you are met with a shocking number of empty units that used to be home to local businesses.  

More empty units in the town (Image: Newsquest)

What was the town centre like in the past?

Stuart Taylor, 77 of Pontypool, a former teacher said: “When I was a child, you couldn’t walk along these streets because they would be so full - you had to be careful to avoid being knocked over! 

"I’m going back fifty or sixty years, but back then Pontypool was a busy centre, and you had most of the shops here. It was a real hub – this was the place you would come to do your shopping. 

Stuart Taylor inside Pontypool Christian and Friends bookshop (Image: Newsquest)

“I don’t know what can be done about it. They come and go. It has been getting worse for years before Covid, but I imagine it will have accelerated it," he added.

Local residents and visitors want cafes and places to go to

Mark Hutchings on the platform at Pontypool and New Inn train station (Image: Newsquest)

Mark Hutchings, of Cardiff said: “I come up here each week to see my mother occasionally. I take her out, but there are few places to go. 

“I am trying to find a cafe to take her to. It is a struggle. It has been a long decline. When I was young, it was dying then. 

“There is Ragamuffins, but other than that at the market there’s not much there. It is pretty much empty.  

“It has been happening since I was growing up in Pontypool, but it seems to be getting worse. I have two nieces running businesses in the town center.  

“People need a reason to go there. I look at the old buildings. It could be a proper nice place. It just hasn’t been developed.”

The outside view of the Pontypool Christian and Friends bookshop (Image: Newsquest)

Stuart Taylor was having a chat with another local, Anshea at the Pontypool Christian and Friends book shop – they said the Tesco Cafe has now become a place where people meet. 

“I used to go to a cafe on this street, but now it has closed. I used to meet with a friend there,” said Anshea 

Stuart added: “There were certainly cafes up here. Where Iceland now is there was two or three cafes outside on that road.”  

Kathleen Adkins, 72, said: “There is the Tesco Cafe but people without cars can’t always get up there. It is a shame mind.” 

Kathleen Adkins sat outside of a shop in Pontypool on a bench (Image: Newsquest)

What about local businesses that are in the area?

The owner of second-hand store, Del Boy of Pontypool, Darrious Fisher, 43, said: “I have been open all morning and only made a fiver.  

“When you sit here all day, especially in the winter in the cold it is demoralizing. I don’t have heating in my shop – I can’t afford it. 

"There are some good days like a Tuesday or Friday can be good when fathers come and buy a toy for their kid, but even on a Saturday it is quiet." 

Darrious Fisher and the Del Boy of Pontypool store (Image: File)

“When I first came to Pontypool it was great. I have seen so many people come up with great ideas like tattooists or something else. I must have seen 50 open up and shut.  

Mr Fisher goes to car boot sales and antique auctions to find unique items that he sells at his second-hand store.  

He spent £225 over the weekend on items to sell at his shop - “I had been hunting all day for them,” he said.  

Luke Durham stood outside of Duke's Gaming (Image: Newsquest)

Luke Durham, 39, owner of Duke’s gaming, which used to be on the same street as Del Boy of Pontypool, said: “We have been in Pontypool for five to six years. It is 100% quieter since covid. 

“I’m a Cwmbran boy so Pontypool isn’t a stranger to me. We chose Pontypool because of the proximity to the rest of Wales – you are within an hour of everywhere.  

“I was speaking to someone about this. If it isn’t Iceland, us, us or the bookies, there isn’t much more to come to town for.” 

The business Duke’s gaming, which was currently hosting volunteers from the Duke of Edinburgh award, is still making strides despite the condition of the high street.  

“We are getting stronger and stronger. We have moved twice because we needed a bigger space,” he added.