The future of our town centres

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The Covid-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the lives and health of many Powys citizens, but it has also had severe economic consequences. The lockdown had an immediate impact on the way in which our town centres operate with many businesses adapting the way in which they have worked to ensure that their local communities were provided with the services and goods they needed throughout the pandemic.

To encourage the public back into our town centres and to help businesses open safely and in compliance with ongoing restrictions and regulations, it was important to make some temporary changes to how some of our town centres had traditionally worked. There will be no quick fix to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, social distancing and the need for personal protection measures will be with us for some time.

The temporary measures for social distancing were put in place following discussions with representatives of each the town to facilitate businesses trading, by providing outdoor space for their customers, and for pedestrians to social distance as they walk along pavements.

What these temporary measures have done is highlight that town centres can evolve and make use of the highway space differently. The pandemic has given rise to an element of café culture being experienced within our towns and an enthusiasm for embracing our outside areas, which is something that might be considered appropriate to retain post pandemic restrictions.

We are aware that high streets have changed over the recent years and the pandemic has accelerated that change by several years, especially with greater reliance on online shopping etc. We must therefore seek to address that change and aid the recovery of our town centres by making them destinations that people want to visit, with resilient and viable businesses and strong communities.

As we begin to plan for a safe, resilient future, this is the opportunity to look at things differently and rebalance our public spaces. Whilst some businesses may consider it is essential to park within the high streets, this does not always provide the attractive spaces which will draw people to that town. We therefore need to consider the balance of the needs of the shops and businesses and the availability of parking and develop proposals that meet the needs of the changing high streets.

The Welsh Government have made available a special placemaking grant during this current financial year to enable us to explore this in greater detail. Nothing will be put in place without the appropriate levels of consultation with all involved for each town. But first, we would like to ask your opinion of the recent temporary measures in Brecon, Hay on Wye, Newtown and Crickhowell.

The Covid-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the lives and health of many Powys citizens, but it has also had severe economic consequences. The lockdown had an immediate impact on the way in which our town centres operate with many businesses adapting the way in which they have worked to ensure that their local communities were provided with the services and goods they needed throughout the pandemic.

To encourage the public back into our town centres and to help businesses open safely and in compliance with ongoing restrictions and regulations, it was important to make some temporary changes to how some of our town centres had traditionally worked. There will be no quick fix to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, social distancing and the need for personal protection measures will be with us for some time.

The temporary measures for social distancing were put in place following discussions with representatives of each the town to facilitate businesses trading, by providing outdoor space for their customers, and for pedestrians to social distance as they walk along pavements.

What these temporary measures have done is highlight that town centres can evolve and make use of the highway space differently. The pandemic has given rise to an element of café culture being experienced within our towns and an enthusiasm for embracing our outside areas, which is something that might be considered appropriate to retain post pandemic restrictions.

We are aware that high streets have changed over the recent years and the pandemic has accelerated that change by several years, especially with greater reliance on online shopping etc. We must therefore seek to address that change and aid the recovery of our town centres by making them destinations that people want to visit, with resilient and viable businesses and strong communities.

As we begin to plan for a safe, resilient future, this is the opportunity to look at things differently and rebalance our public spaces. Whilst some businesses may consider it is essential to park within the high streets, this does not always provide the attractive spaces which will draw people to that town. We therefore need to consider the balance of the needs of the shops and businesses and the availability of parking and develop proposals that meet the needs of the changing high streets.

The Welsh Government have made available a special placemaking grant during this current financial year to enable us to explore this in greater detail. Nothing will be put in place without the appropriate levels of consultation with all involved for each town. But first, we would like to ask your opinion of the recent temporary measures in Brecon, Hay on Wye, Newtown and Crickhowell.

Consultation has concluded

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    Following extensive feedback from the recent engagement exercise on the future of Powys town centres, the temporary arrangements in Brecon, Newtown and Crickhowell will stay in place for now.

    The temporary changes to the town centres were introduced last year to encourage the public back into our town centres and to help businesses open safely and in compliance with Covid-19 restrictions. These measures were designed to facilitate social distancing and provide additional outdoor space for both pedestrians and businesses to utilise.

    "I would like to thank all those who took part in our engagement exercise and for the valuable comments received on the future of our town centres. Given such positive and supportive feedback from businesses, residents and visitors, and in anticipation of an influx of visitors to our county with the rising popularity of 'staycations', the temporary measures in Brecon, Newtown and Crickhowell will stay in place." explains Cllr Heulwen Hulme, Cabinet Member for Highways.

    "As we move into a phase of less legal restrictions we are all very much looking forward to seeing our iconic Powys towns enjoy a busy summer. But it is important to remember to remain cautious, with government advice recommending we take responsibility for our own actions with regard to social distancing, both inside and out."

    "We will now go through all the feedback in detail and start discussions about what may be possible for each town longer-term. All proposals will go through the appropriate levels of consultation with all stakeholders."

    Smaller measures in other towns, including pavement licences granted to individual businesses to make use of public areas such as walkways and roads, will also remain.

    On the contrary, in line with the initial feedback from the engagement exercise and at the request of the town council, the temporary restrictions in Hay on Wye will be lifted from 7 August, should the Welsh Government decide to progress with the latest plans to ease restrictions. However, if there is a spike in Covid-19 cases in the town, the measures may be reintroduced to limit the spread of the virus by enabling safe social distancing in such a busy tourist hot-spot.