MARKS AND SPARKS TO THE RESCUE?

The loss of Debenhams in Friars Walk was a bitter blow - which while covid did not help  - in reality the Debenham’s retail model had been failing for some years. That said, Marks and Spencer quit the city centre stating amongst other things the lack of parking and the difficulties of modernising their building. Perhaps they might consider making use of the former Debenhams building - which is effectively brand new and has plenty of parking. The Friar’s walk development itself was too small, too limited in scope and failed to create the retail space for local businesses to set up from the start. While there have been some tentative steps towards that recently, at a fundamental level that has to change from now on - there has to be a blend of local businesses and the usual suspects - there is room enough to make this work. One basic economic fact is that if you spend ten pounds in local business it will circulate three times longer locally in the local economy that ten pounds spent in a chain outlet. Newport has suffered because of the unhealthy obsession with directly competing with Cardiff and Cribs Causeway. We seriously need to focus on growing small local businesses that supply our needs as well as hosting the usual suspects to bring economic life back to our city centre. If we can do this then we can bring sustainable economic growth and some life back to our city centre.  

SUPPORTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

For too long far too many small and medium sized businesses in our country have been denied access to credit by banks and this has prevented the growth of our private sector. Our over centralised dividend driven pretty much rootless London based banking model that has been followed in the UK is incapable, indifferent or simply unwilling to deliver or support economic development in our country. In Germany, the Sparkasse and Landesbanken operate on a geographical basis, and have developed special expertise in the local industries so that they are better equipped to make investment decisions and should offer a real alternative. We need to develop Industrial Innovation Clusters in key areas of our economy and to expand the role of the Development Bank of Wales and support the creation of a Community Bank to help  domestically owned businesses grow their market share and to put down deep roots in our communities. The Welsh economy needs to be locally owned and to pay higher wages. Jobs and investment need to be shared across the whole country. Our economy needs be more balanced and much more diverse and our public finances need to be stronger. If we can accomplish this then the talent we have in Wales will be developed and retained.