The presentations by Martin Tressider and Julie Vellucci were impressive. Martin's presentation included a CGI flythrough of the Friars Walk development. While I remain cynical that such a development is needed in Newport at this moment in time, I have made clear my belief that if it must happen, Queensberry are the best choice to deliver. But while it all looks very nice in CGI where the sky is always blue, I still fail to see how the me-too retailers and food outlets will transform Newport into a destination that can attract people away from Cardiff, Cwmbran and Bristol, and I worry that Friars Walk will only serve to further suck the life out of Commercial Street.
Julie Vellicci's presentation impressed me more. For the first time I got a sense that there was some strategy behind the council's thinking. This is what has always been missing in Newport. The tradition has been for scatter-gun tactics whereby good money has been thrown at various bad redevelopment schemes with no concept of integration or any 'bigger picture' thinking. 'If you build it, they will come' is a seductive line for a movie about a guy building a baseball field for ghosts, but it doesn't always work in real life.
However, Newport City Council has clearly done some good work in standing back and looking long and hard to analyse just what the centre of Newport is, and what can be done to inject some life and vibrancy into it. They have even managed to divide it up into logical zones that include a retail zone, creative & education zone, entertainment zone, and gateway - and at long last the council is looking at how it can work with landlords to make best use of the stunning buildings we have to create accommodation and get more people living in the city centre.
A lot of physical work has been done to improve the city centre, for example outside Newport Market and at the top of Commercial Street, and a lot more physical work is planned. It's all good positive stuff and it complements the bigger picture ambition for Newport as defined by reNEWPORT that sees Newport's future as a technology hub.
So where does the BID fit into this, and why is it so important?
In case you don't know, BID stands for 'Business Improvement District'. Many towns and cities across the UK have BIDs in place and in the most basic terms; a BID delivers services - street cleaning, security, events, marketing - paid for by businesses within the BID area, that are additional to those delivered by the council.
I have a great interest in a Newport BID as I've done a lot of work helping to promote the Bath Business Improvement District - an impressive BID that has achieved much, including high levels of street cleaning, security, and a full programme of events that attract major footfall, such as getting the likes of Nicholas Cage to switch on the Christmas Lights. So I understand fully what a BID can deliver. However, it could be argued that a BID in an already successful and thriving city such as Bath is more of a nice-to-have than a need-to-have.
For Newport, a BID is an absolutely-must-have.
It's widely agreed that Newport city centre has pretty much hit rock bottom. Both the daytime and night-time economies have declined dramatically and public perception is at an all-time low. The reasons given for why people stay away are also universal and generally centre on 'there's nothing there', 'it's scruffy and dirty', 'I feel intimidated', and 'there's nowhere to park'. While the arrival of Friars Walk may begin to address the first and (to a degree) the last of these common criticisms, the wider scruffiness and poor state of the city around it will certainly impact negatively on the success of Friars Walk. People will either have to walk through a decomposing and scruffy city centre to reach the shiny new development, or park within Friars Walk and not venture out. Again, this will impact on the rest of the city. The ideal scenario would be one where footfall happily passes in and out of Friars Walk.
A BID has the potential to dramatically improve the rest of the city centre and address both the scruffiness and its intimidating nature. These two negatives have done an immense amount to speed the latter stages of decline and especially to deter older people from visiting. So the sooner these problems are addressed the better. My yardstick for success is my mother-in-law. The day she feels inclined to visit Newport over Cwmbran and doesn't complain about the state of the streets or the beggers and winos that scare her, I'll know that Newport is, finally, on the rise.
Businesses in Newport have been surveyed as part of a Scoping Study for the BID (certainly worth downloading and reading) and their opinions echo those of the public at large. The perception of crime is the third highest concern for businesses (after vacant premises and parking) and tackling anti-social behaviour their second highest priority (after parking).
There is a process before Newport can have a BID (you can read all about it at http://newportbid.com/about/) and it involves a vote from businesses in the proposed BID area. But such is the pressing need for a BID that any business voting against it will be voting against their own survival. In my opinion, it's that important.
In fact, I would go as far as to say a BID would do more for Newport than the Friars Walk development. It would help support local businesses and increase footfall to the businesses that have hung in there, and which stand to have what little footfall there is tempted away to the multinationals in Friars Walk.
I've been impressed by the team working hard to set up a Newport BID. They have enthusiasm, drive and commitment that hopefully will help to convince businesses that it's the right thing to do. It's certainly in the interests of both Queensberry and Newport City Council that a bid is set up.
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