Written question WQ86011

Recognising the challenges faced by our town centres, since January 2020, £136m has been provided to local authorities throughout Wales and an additional £100m committed for 2022-2025 to support the revitalisation and sustainable growth of our towns through: reuse of derelict buildings; increasing the diversity of services in towns; creation of green space and improved access. The programme has an important role in supporting businesses and services to move to town centres which would have otherwise been located elsewhere.

Our Town Centre First policy, embedded in our national planning framework: Future Wales, means town centres should be the first consideration for all decisions on the location of workplaces and services. The sustainable regeneration of our towns is therefore linked to investments we make across government particularly in transport, housing, schools and the economy.

Welsh Government officials are working in partnership with local authorities and other local stakeholders to develop place plans to identify the key issues and opportunities within their town centres. Councils are encouraged to involve the community in the development of these plans. Officials will be discussing how Welsh Government can support the implementation of these plans.

Business Wales helps Welsh micro-businesses and SMEs including social enterprises, and aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages to access the information, advice and support they require to start and grow their businesses. The Business Wales offer is accessible throughout Wales and is available to support micro and SMEs including town centre businesses. Business Wales provides a range of general business advice, information and signposting as well as specialist strands of advice such as equality and diversity; resource efficiency; international trade; skills; procurement; and mentoring.

Superfast Business Wales is also available to help SMEs, including town centre businesses, to exploit digital technologies through a range of business support activities such as diagnostics, workshops and tailored one-to-one support from a digital business advisor, as well as online tools and guides.

We also support five regional Enterprise Hubs (Hubs) which are fully integrated with Business Wales support and located in or close to town centres with outreach satellite locations. The Hubs provide enhanced regional visibility and facilitate a more connected approach to providing entrepreneurship and business support.

Our Town Centre Entrepreneurship Fund pilot ran between June 2021 and June 2022, offering eligible businesses in Bangor, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl and Wrexham up to £10,000 each towards revenue costs associated with starting or relocating a business. The fund provided applicants with up to 50% towards eligible costs and attracting significant interest. It is supporting 24 businesses across the four towns and has awarded £200,000 in grants with Business Wales continuing to support their first 12 months of trading.

During the same period, we piloted the Year of the SMART Towns (YOST). The pilot focussed on the benefits of integrating technology with planning to improve economic development, environmental standards and services. The YOST pilot saw active engagement with 90 communities across Wales including 73 towns, 13 villages and four cities. A total of 49 workshops were hosted across Wales bringing together BIDs, local council members and re-generation officers. The pilot delivered 16 smart solutions webinars fostering links between town stakeholders and experts in the internet of things tech, community platforms, and traffic management systems to promote technological solutions to aid town growth. We are currently exploring options for future SMART Towns delivery.