FOLLOWING Andy Burnham’s visit to South Wales yesterday as part of his ‘listening tour’, Monmouthshire MP Catherine Fookes said struggling high streets need to be a part of the conversation when it comes to local economic growth.

The Prime Minister made his first official visit to Wales in Port Talbot to talk to apprentices at Tata Steel, but Ms Fookes believes her campaign to revive vacant retail units closer to home can also help boost employment opportunities in the local area.

The rationale behind her campaign is to revive boarded-up shops and empty buildings on the high street.

“One of my top priorities as an MP is breathing new life into our town centres. When I first met Andy Burnham, I raised this with him because I know he cares deeply about the importance of a sense of place and taking pride in our local communities but I just wanted to stress to him that our rural high streets are just as important to our economy and our well-being as our city centres,” said Ms Fookes.

The UK Government recently provided £1.5 million to invest into Monmouthshire town centres, and projects such as the refurbishment of a unit on Chepstow High Street is already underway.

“I welcome the measures the new Prime minister has already announced to help clamp down on the number of gambling and vape shops on our high streets. But I think we need to go further, particularly when it comes to reducing the cost of running businesses.”

In England, business rates will be cut by 20 per cent for pubs, clubs and live music venues and Ms Fookes is now calling on the Welsh Government to do the same for all our high street businesses.

She is also calling on the UK Government to cut VAT for hospitality businesses by 10 per cent, supporting the ‘VAT is the problem’ campaign.

“There is no silver bullet to solve this issue. Only a mixture of solutions and innovative thinking will help breathe life into our high streets again,” she continued.

“That includes extra work to give landlords more incentives to open up empty units, for example the fact that empty units don’t pay rates means that some landlords prefer to keep their properties empty, but we also need to recognise that in Monmouthshire most of our buildings are listed, meaning there are strong regulations on what work can be done.”

“If we’re going to encourage new businesses, I think we need to look at how we can adjust these heritage guidelines to be more accommodating for new business owners to open up quicker and more cost effectively.”

“Our high streets need to change with the times and offer more to residents than just opportunities for shopping or grabbing a coffee.”

“For example, PT Pilates is a great business on the high street in both Usk and Monmouth and Gwagle in Abergavenny provide co-working spaces for professionals who now would otherwise work from home.”

“We need people to feel proud of where they live and to have access to high streets that are vibrant, welcoming and exciting places to spend time. They need to be places where people can meet friends and loved ones, access local businesses and services and feel part of their community.”