Call for ‘radical thinking’ to help economy recover
chris.pyke@walesonline.co.uk
SQUARES, high streets and other public spaces in Wales should be repurposed to help businesses, says the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
As Wales looks ahead to easing out of lockdown and allowing non-essential retail stores to reopen, attention has turned to how to support smaller firms who may begin to reopen in the coming months.
FSB Wales’ new report Open for Business: Repurposing Public Spaces for Economic Recovery identifies how businesses can be helped to reopen and operate safely and successfully under social distancing guidelines.
The FSB report follows research by the Centre for Cities group that found Cardiff has seen the biggest drop in footfall in the whole of the UK.
The capital was found to be at 11% of pre-lockdown levels in the first release of data from new High Street Recovery Tracker.
Overall it found the high streets of the UK’s biggest cities could be set for a slow recovery from lockdown when compared to smaller cities and towns.
Anonymised mobile phone data from May 24 to 31 found average footfall in the UK’s city centres was at just 22% of pre-lockdown levels. But this is even lower in the largest cities where footfall was on average 17% of pre-lockdown levels.
In Swansea footfall is 27% of pre-lockdown levels, and Newport footfall is 39%.
The Centre for Cities echoed the call by the
FSB to re-purpose public spaces to help businesses.
The FSB Wales’ report Open for Business: Repurposing Public Spaces for Economic Recovery, which was released this week, identified how businesses can be helped to reopen and operate safely and successfully under social distancing guidelines.
Many businesses have identified that they fear they may be unable to reopen and make a profit under social distancing rules due to the size of their premises and the nature of their business.
The FSB report looked at possible solutions to this which come from utilising public spaces within towns in a way that supports businesses and seeks to reassure and protect customers and consumers at this time. Examples are Cardiff city centre and Bangor High Street and allowing shops and cafes to spread into the public space.
Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair, said: “This report calls for some radical thinking from Welsh Government, local government as well as community and business groups, but we live in a time that requires us to think very differently and challenge convention.”
Mr Francis added: “The decisions that are made in the coming weeks are critical, and will be the difference a firms’ ability to survive, or not. We hope that we can work with Welsh Government and local authority leaders across Wales to give local businesses the best possible chance and help our communities to regrow.”
The Centre for Cities’ chief executive, Andrew Carter, said: “While every part of the UK has seen the effects of Covid-19, it’s economic consequences are being felt very differently across the country.
“This early indication suggests that many of our biggest cities – where millions of people live and work – may struggle to get back on their feet.
“If high street footfall does not increase as lockdown eases further then it could put many city centre jobs at risk as the furlough scheme is phased out.
“The Government should consider ways to boost demand on the high streets once they reopen – VAT cuts and cuts to alcohol duty are one way to support retailers and pubs.”
The FSB report follows research by the Centre for Cities group that found Cardiff has seen the biggest drop in footfall in the whole of the UK