 shows. "Clearly that's bad news for the economy because retail plays such an integral role," said Sara Jones from the WRC. The Welsh government said its retail action plan was working to bring "vibrancy" back to town centres. Sara Jones said Welsh retailers were "grappling with several cost challenges". "They come from all different quarters - whether it is business rates, energy prices or local challenges like antisocial behaviour affecting footfall in shops," she said. The rate of empty shops in Wales rose from 16.5% to 17.0% in the second quarter of 2023, according to the WRC. The WRC data also suggests Newport has more empty units than any other city in the UK. Shopper Jeanette Scurry, who was shopping in Newport, said: "I usually go to Cardiff or Cwmbran even though I live in Newport. "But I thought today I'd come to Newport. I don't know why I bothered. There's nothing here, it's a mess." Image caption, High Street and Commercial Street in Newport city centre have many vacant shops and boarded up businesses John Richards, 79, also from the city, said: "I used to come to Newport and get what I needed and go home with it, but I can't do that anymore. "I need to go out of town or to one of big supermarkets." Newport City Council said some "significant and high-profile" projects had come to fruition in the city over the last few years, "such as the successful transformation of Newport Market, the regeneration of Market Arcade and the Chartist Tower development. "These would have formed part of the count of "vacant shops" in the report which looked at around 60 places in the UK and claimed Newport had the highest number of empty units."It is worth noting that the city co){kind=link}
Wales has the second highest number of vacant shops in the UK, according to new figures.
Just over one in six shops in Wales are empty, analysis from the Welsh Retail Consortium (WRC) shows.
“Clearly that’s bad news for the economy because retail plays such an integral role,” said Sara Jones from the WRC.
The Welsh government said its retail action plan was working to bring “vibrancy” back to town centres.
Sara Jones said Welsh retailers were “grappling with several cost challenges”.