Fed-up locals have said their high street has been turned into a ‘ghost town’ and even beggars have cleared off the streets.
Ten years ago, £117million was invested in the Friars Walk shopping centre investment, described as a ‘lifeline’ for the city of Newport.
Incredibly though, a row of nine modern shop units, right next to Marks and Spencer, have never been occupied and remain boarded up since Friars Walk was officially opened in 2015.
Momentum has nose-dived, and businesses have shut their doors.
The department store Debenhams is gone, Cineworld has shown its final film, B&M and Wilko have disappeared, and TGI Fridays has served its last sizzling sirloin.
Struggling businesses blame Covid, competition from out-of-town retail parks, anti-social behaviour, council red tape and a change in people’s shopping habits.
It’s a similar picture across towns and cities in Britain, but nowhere looks quite as grim as Newport, upgraded to city status by the Queen in 2002 and the third biggest in Wales with a population of 161,000.
Local artist Anthony James Smith is fighting to restore the city’s reputation with a striking mural of a glamorous cartoon figure and a speech bubble proclaiming: ‘This town has gone to the dogs’.
Underneath the caption reads: ‘No Susan you’re wrong. We have culture, music, art and fire in our hearts. That’s what makes this town. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a few empty shops to take that away from us.’
But it’s not a few, it’s dozens of businesses struggling to survive, fearing they may be next to put the shutters up.
Antonio Campo, 40, and wife Rosie, 38, used to keep their city centre Bar Piazza cafe open until 9pm and had three staff to help with the long hours.
Now they close at 5pm and have just one waitress to serve the dwindling customers who pop in for an Espresso or a flat white.
Father-of-two Mr Campo said: ‘I would say the city has been in decline for the last 10 years, and footfall is down year-on-year.
‘With Debenhams and other big names going it has a knock-on effect on smaller businesses like us.
‘We had plans to extend and invest money into the business but that’s all gone. Our turnover is down 15 per cent.
‘Then there’s crime; people don’t feel safe here. We had our windows smashed and a fella was in here for five hours. No one came; no one cared. He got away with our property.’
Aaron Shaw, 36, who runs Octopod, a podcast and content studio in the city centre, said: ‘One of the biggest problems is anti-social behaviour, crime and intimidation.
‘A member of my staff has been approached by drug users outside my office. He came to see me to ask if he could leave work before sunset every day, he didn’t feel safe.
‘It’s not the kind of environment where families want to come and spend the day.’
The 36-year-old has had to overcome council red tape to set up his business and is concerned this will deter others from coming to the city.
He said: ‘I had to wait for six months for grant support and business support. I run an independent business employing young people, but the level of red tape meant I couldn’t get started.’
He said the loss of Debenhams was a big blow to the city, and he fears the shop space is so large no one will come in to take it over.
He said: ‘They are a massive player who have closed because of the lack of footfall, but that snowballs and others will follow. The more businesses that leave the worse the city centre is going to get.’
For generations, residents of Newport have complained that Cardiff, 12 miles along M4, gets all the investment, sports stadiums, concert arenas and high street brands.
But now locals are heading to Newport’s satellite town of Cwmbran, five miles away, with its neat and compact shopping centre and free parking.
Even the homeless and street beggars have deserted Newport’s soul-less precincts and bus station.
Legal worker Philip Jones, 44, said: ‘You know a city is on its last legs when the beggars and scroungers clear off.
‘I live in Cardiff but I come to Newport every week and it’s got worse year on year. People working in cafes and shops are lovely and friendly but the mural in Commercial Street has it right: ‘The town has gone to the dogs.’
Locals say the market end of the city still looks good and the ‘foodie quarter’ is busy despite losing TGI Friday last October.
But Friar’s Walk looks like a ghetto with only about half of the original 34 shops still open and the once busy Commercial Street no longer lives up to its name with shop windows covered by ugly sheets of steel.
Labour-controlled Newport City Council was recently told that footfall actually went up 5.4 per cent in February compared to the same month last year.
Liberal Democrat councillor Carmel Townsend welcomed the figures but called for more action to revitalise the city, still reeling from the disappearance of big high street names. She said: ‘We need to see something positive happening.’
But Labour councillor Emma Corten told : ‘There’s too much negativity about Newport, there are lots of exciting things going on.
‘There’s a lot of work going on to tackle anti-social behaviour in the city centre and a lot of events coming up.
‘The Newport Festival of Words is happening this month and then we have the free Newport Music Trail with more than 90 bands taking part.
‘Newport gets painted in a bad light, it’s not as bad as some people believe.’