Plea to ‘show high streets some love’ as Plaid pushes rate reform
Plaid Cymru’s north Wales Member of the Senedd has called for greater support for high streets and small businesses across the region.
Llyr Gruffydd MS made the appeal during a Plaid Cymru debate on supporting Welsh high street business, saying small, independent traders had been left behind.
“When we talk about town centre regeneration, we’re not just talking about bricks and mortar – we’re talking about people, community, the life that flows through our high streets and makes our towns what they are. But too many of those small, independent businesses – the butchers, the cafés, the local shops – feel forgotten. They feel unloved. Neglected by a system that seems to work better for the big corporations on the edge of town than for the small family-run businesses at the heart of our communities,” he said.
Mr Gruffydd said many local business owners across north Wales were “fighting an uphill battle”, adding that years of out-of-town retail developments had drained life from town centres.
“Even today, many of those big out-of-town retailers pay far less in business rates per square foot than the small shopkeeper trying to make a living in town. That’s unfair, it’s unsustainable – and Plaid Cymru wants to put that right,” he said.
Plaid Cymru’s motion, tabled by the party’s economy spokesperson Luke Fletcher, proposed reforms to the business rates multiplier to favour smaller high street traders, including hospitality businesses. It also called for longer-term funding to support town centre regeneration and to strengthen community “right to buy” powers.
Mr Gruffydd added: “Let’s be honest – it’s time to show our high streets some love. We all know the world has changed. Supermarkets and online shopping have reshaped how we spend our money. But that doesn’t mean the high street has had its day. Far from it.
“Look at towns like Caernarfon, Conwy, Mold and Prestatyn – places that have reinvented themselves by offering something unique: an experience. Because that’s what today’s town centre is all about. It’s about connection – not just consumption.”
The motion was voted down by Labour and Conservative MSs.
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