Task force created to 'reinvent' Wales' longest high street

A new task force has been created to try and "reinvent" struggling high streets, including Wales' longest high street.

The aim is to regenerate town centres across Wales after a decline in footfall due to economic pressures and the changing behaviour of shoppers.

The Welsh government said £1m of funding was being made available, with £654,000 allocated for projects in Bangor, Gwynedd, including new street furniture and an amphitheatre.

However, a founding member of the Bangor City Regeneration and Vision group said the funding they had been given for regeneration was "peanuts" compared to what was needed.

The rise in online shopping and relocation of businesses to out-of-town locations in many areas has seen high streets struggle.

Some folded after a drop in trade during the Covid-19 pandemic and empty premises are now a common feature across the country.

Sian Gwenllian, minister for housing, local government and planning, announced the new task force on a visit to Bangor on 12 August.

She said: "The high street has changed…and we must acknowledge that.

"We're not going to be bringing in these big companies into our towns and cities."

Instead, she said creative spaces like arts centres, adult-learning facilities and medical hubs could be used to increase footfall, which in turn could benefit local businesses.

Speaking from a quiet high street in Bangor, Charlotte Moore, 16, from Caernarfon, said there were not enough shops for young people to visit.

"There's not enough places like cafes, restaurants. So I think more needs to come to this area," she said.

She welcomed the idea of a task force, adding: "I'd start with maybe asking brands if they'd be willing to come to the empty buildings that are here."

Business owner Md Mustakim Raza, 36, who runs Bangor Tandoori, said a task force to generate ideas was a "good initiative," but the government also needed to take action.

"We've got multiple issues going on here. Business rates is a very important one. You need to cut the business rates.

"Cleanliness – we have problems with dog poos everywhere. No cleaning, nothing.

"They've done some flowers and things like that, and that's nice, but it doesn't go a long way."

He said parking was another major issue, adding: "Young generations don't come to the high street anymore.

"They go to Amazon, eBay, lots of different online stores where they don't get a parking ticket for shopping. Here, you do."

Gwenllian said a reform of business rates and planning rules will be examined, and recommendations were expected within "a few months".

She added she would like to see "empty spaces above some shops being used for housing for local people".

The minister said the task force "will be looking forensically for solutions - solutions that can be adapted in different parts of Wales.

"The recommendations will come to me in a few months. This isn't going to be a long drawn-out exercise."

Nigel Pickavance, of the Bangor City Regeneration and Vision group, said the group was set up three years ago "in response to how bad the High Street's become and how dilapidated it is".

"Bangor has been overlooked by many, many places and especially the local authorities and the Welsh [Parliament]as well," he said.

Speaking about the funding, he said: "We'd never turn down funding from anywhere. But literally, if you think about this money in a big sense, it's pittance or it's peanuts compared to what's needed to regenerate Bangor".

Francesca O'Brien, Reform Wales' shadow cabinet minister for local government, housing and planning, said that while "another taskforce" was being announced by the Plaid Cymru-led government, people were "waiting for the basic improvements that would make a visible difference to their communities".

Out of the £1m funding available for the project, £350,000 will go towards the regeneration of the Rhiw Shopping Centre in Bridgend.