BusinessIn Wales

Food & Drink, HR & Culture

Newport the focus ahead of Small Business Saturday

Newport the focus ahead of Small Business Saturday Newport the focus ahead of Small Business Saturday Kevin Ward – BID Manager, Newport Now Subscribe to the Businessin Wales daily newsletter for FREE here.  It was brilliant to see some of Newport city centre’s many independent businesses gaining national recognition recently. The team from Small Business Saturday UK were in our city as part of a nationwide tour showcasing some of the country’s 5.4 million small businesses that form the backbone of their local communities and economies. The tour launched at the start of November and continues in the lead up to this year’s Small Business Saturday on December 6. Newport was one of 23 towns and cities selected for this year’s tour, supported by BT. The Small Business Saturday team says that while visiting local small businesses it has been “going behind the scenes and meeting the people running them, to shine a light on their invaluable contribution to local communities and the wider UK economy”. While in Newport city centre, the tour visited New Pastures Home on Commercial Street, Gallery 57 on Upper Dock Street, Italian bakers Ostuni in Newport Market, The Underground in the Kingsway Centre, and Chupacabra Taxidermy in Newport Arcade. The five businesses visited are just a small sample of the hundreds of brilliant independent businesses operating in the city centre – all of which deserve a wider audience and more support from consumers. They are almost always family-run – the five highlighted by Small Business Saturday certainly are – and normally a sole source of income. Small Business Saturday is now in its 13th year in the UK, having started in the United States in 2010. As the SBS team states so well on their website: “We believe in the power of small. Small is personal. Small is resilient. Small is at the heart of every neighbourhood.” The last sentence is the most telling. Small businesses are at the heart of their communities because, for the most part, they come from those communities. Most people like the convenience of internet or supermarket shopping. But without small businesses like the many we are fortunate to have in Newport, communities wither and local economies die. Celebrate what we have and, even if it’s for one day on December 6, go out and support your local small businesses. Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts No Posts Found!

Food & Drink

BID Gets Into The Festive Spirit With Two Big Christmas Events

BID Gets Into The Festive Spirit With Two Big Christmas Events BID Gets Into The Festive Spirit With Two Big Christmas Events Kevin Ward – BID Manager, Newport Now Subscribe to the Businessin Wales daily newsletter for FREE here.  Christmas remains a vital trading period for high street retailers large and small – and Newport is no exception. For most city centre businesses it is the single biggest revenue period of the year, despite the ever-growing competition from the internet and out-of-town shopping malls. So Newport Now BID is again pulling out all the stops with events aimed at increasing footfall and trading opportunities in the run-up to the festive period. Newport city centre will start the countdown to Christmas with a spectacular event packed with fun for all the family on Saturday, November 15. Running from 2pm to 5.30pm, the BID’s 10th annual Countdown to Christmas will feature live music, fairground rides and celebrity guests, culminating in the official switching on of Newport’s city centre Christmas lights and a breath-taking fireworks display. Organised by the BID in partnership with Newport City Council, Friars Walk and Newport City Radio, Countdown to Christmas will mirror the BID’s hugely-successful previous annual events with the main stage based at the junction of Charles Street and Commercial Street. This year’s event is funded by UK Government via the Shared Prosperity Fund. Last year’s Countdown to Christmas attracted almost 12,000 additional people into the city centre compared to an average Saturday. Musical acts will be on stage during the day, with a multi-million selling chart-topper and TV star who has notched three UK number one singles, ten singles that reached the top 10, and five top 10 albums, topping the bill. Check our website newportnow.co.uk on November 7 for the big reveal of the big star name – who will also be helping the city’s mayor Councillor Kate Thomas push the button to light up the city centre for the festive season. There will be fairground rides, costume characters, face painters, stage appearances from the cast of Rapuzel – this year’s Riverfront Theatre panto – and Santa, and the event will culminate with the Christmas lights switch-on at 5.15pm followed by the fireworks display at 5.30pm. The day also marks the start of free parking on Saturdays in council-owned car parks in the city centre, which runs until the end of December. The BID is also delivering a month-long Christmas Market in the city centre. Running from November 22 to December 23, the market will be based in John Frost Square and feature more than a dozen festive cabins selling gifts, food and drink. Also funded by SPF, the market is being delivered in partnership with Mall Solutions and is the first time the BID’s Christmas Market has been situated in John Frost Square. The success of the street food and music sections of the recent Newport Food Festival showed the venue is perfect for a market, with car parks and public transport hubs nearby and easy access for all. IMAGES: Library photo from the BID’s Countdown to Christmas event in 2025. Please note these are copyright of Kevin Ward Media and are free to use with an appropriate credit. Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify No Posts Found!

Technology & Innovation, Tourism & Travel, Transport & Infrastructure

Newport NOW Bid launches digital gift card

Newport NOW Bid launches digital gift card Newport NOW Bid launches digital gift card Kevin Ward – BID Manager, Newport Now Subscribe to the Businessin Wales daily newsletter for FREE here.  Supporting businesses in Newport city centre is easier than ever following the launch of a new digital version of the Newport Now BID gift card. The gift card scheme was launched by the Newport Now in late 2017. Since then, despite a two-year suspension of the scheme during Covid, more than 1,500 cards have been sold – pumping in excess of £40,000 into the local economy, as the cards can only be spent with participating businesses in the city centre. Until recently, the Newport Now gift cards have only been available to buy as physical cards that are swiped through payment machines. The new digital version of the card launched over the summer will enhance the accessibility and convenience of the initiative, driving Newport Now’s ‘shop local’ focus. The new digital version of the Newport Now gift card can be sent to the recipient instantly by email or text, and can be added to digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay using the free Love Local app. With the gift card in their digital wallet, recipients can ‘tap to pay’ with local businesses. Organisations can also send digital versions of the Newport Now gift card to staff, customers and clients online. The physical version of the Newport Now gift card remains available to buy. The Newport Now gift card can be spent with more than 40 businesses in Newport city centre, including high street chain stores and independent businesses, giving people an easy way to support local and keep the Newport pound in Newport. This new digital offer is a great addition to our popular gift card scheme. We know some businesses, particularly smaller ones, prefer contactless payments and the launch means this will suit their needs and we think more local shops, bars, cafes and restaurants will sign up to accept the card as a result. Buying and sending a digital Newport Now gift card couldn’t be simpler and we hope to see more people backing city centre traders, the majority of whom are small independents. Newport Now BID has worked with tech specialists Miconex to deliver the gift card scheme since 2017. Colin Munro, CEO of Miconex, said: “Digital gift cards overtook physical gift cards in popularity for the first time in 2024. People want the ability to instantly send a gift card to friends, family and staff members that they can add to digital wallets – and that’s what they can do with the new digital Newport Now gift card. “The digital version of the card means supporting local in Newport is easier than ever, particularly as a way for organisations to easily reward their staff, and provide a tangible boost to the Newport economy at the same time.” Both the digital and physical versions of the Newport Now gift card can be bought here. Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Audible Uncategorised Ffeibr delivers first commercial fibre contract for Cloud Centres Networks Technology & Innovation, Tourism & Travel, Transport & Infrastructure, Uncategorised Welsh Government boosts regeneration budget with extra £17m for town and city centres Uncategorised

HR & Culture

Summer of family fun in Newport City Centre

Summer of family fun in Newport City Centre Summer of family fun in Newport City Centre Kevin Ward – BID Manager, Newport Now Subscribe to the Businessin Wales daily newsletter for FREE here.  With the school summer holidays under way, Newport Now BID has launched a series of fun events aimed at attracting families with children into the city centre. Our popular Urban Beach – which last year was used by more than 9,000 children – returns for an extended period. The beach, in John Frost Square, is open 9am-5pm every day throughout August. The first and final 60 minutes each day will be ‘quiet’ hours to ensure the beach is as inclusive as possible. Complete with buckets, spades and deck chairs, the BID’s urban beach will provide fun for all the family. A series of new summer events are also taking place in and around the city centre. A pop-up park opened on July 25 underneath the Steel Wave sculpture on the riverfront. The park, complete with picket fences and picnic tables, is the perfect place for families to relax and enjoy the summer sunshine. The park also marks the start of a Giant Chair Trail, which will provide a fun walk into the city centre. The trail, opening on July 31, includes five giant chairs situated from the Steel Wave to the Friars Walk food zone. The chairs range from a flower swing to one designed to look like an ice cream cone to the biggest on the trail which measure 4m x 5m. The Giant Chair Trail provides some fantastic photo and selfie opportunities for families. Families will also have the chance to take part in a Monster Trail through the city centre, starting on August 11. Children will have to find all the monsters hiding in city centre shops at various points across the city centre. They can use the Newport Now app to collect the monsters. Once they have collected all of them, youngsters will receive a free book featuring all the monster characters in a special story. The book will be available from Newport’s central library in John Frost Square. The Urban Beach is open until August 31, while the other events will be in place until September 10. All the summer fun events are delivered by Newport Now BID with support from Newport City Council via the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). All the events are aimed at continuing to increase footfall in the city centre, which has been on an upward curve since 2022 and is now consistently above pre-Covid levels. More visitors create an improved atmosphere in the area and provide increased trading opportunities for businesses as families use the trails to explore the city centre. The new events follow the annual Big Splash street theatre festival, which kicked off the school holidays, and precede popular autumn events such as the Food and Drink Festival. They add to an ever-increasing calendar of city centre events being delivered by the BID and other partners, all aimed at making the area a leisure, hospitality and retail destination for visitors of all ages. Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Audible Uncategorised Glide secures NatWest funding to accelerate UK broadband expansion Residential Property, Technology & Innovation, Uncategorised Principality Stadium set to host opening ceremony of EURO 2028 Tourism & Travel, Uncategorised Swansea: A city on the up! Finance, Public Sector & Government, Residential Property, Tourism & Travel, Uncategorised

Public Sector & Government, Tourism & Travel, Transport & Infrastructure

New 15-year plan to regenerate Newport City Centre revealed

New 15-year plan to regenerate Newport City Centre revealed New 15-year plan to regenerate Newport City Centre revealed Kevin Ward – BID Manager, Newport Now The long-awaited ‘placemaking plan’ detailing plans for the regeneration of Newport city centre over the next 15 years has been published. Titled ‘A New Era for Newport’, the plan includes a series of ambitious proposals for the area – some of which will come to fruition over the next 18 months. Newport City Council leader Councillor Dimitri Batrouni says the plan includes proposals for the biggest and most wide-ranging regeneration of the city centre for generations. Split into short, medium and long-term proposals, the document claims that by 2040 Newport will have ‘fallen back in love with Newport’. The plan was created following engagement with more than 1,700 people in the city via digital surveys, public face-to-face engagement and focus groups. These people included residents, businesses and visitors. Their suggestions then formed the basis of 60 Big Ideas for Newport, a collection of ideas for a re-imagined city centre.  To gauge the popularity and feasibility of those ideas, the suggestions were later open to a public vote (which approximately 850 people voted) as well as a prioritisation matrix process, with input from a steering group of local influential stakeholders. Subscribe to the Businessin Wales daily newsletter for FREE here.  Included in the plan are proposals to open up the River Usk in the city centre to more events and uses, bringing live music into the area with four permanent busking stages, and the redevelopment of the Rodney Parade sports ground. The BID was represented on the steering group that oversaw the creation of the plan and we are pleased to see that ideas that came from us and/or local businesses are included. The key priorities for the plan are: Identity and Perception – how to amplify positive images of the city centre and challenge negative connotations. Safety and Security – addressing concerns around safety, reducing crime and ASB and ensuring the city centre is accessible to all; alongside enabling more events and activity to offer a counterpoint to more challenging urban issues. Music – supporting interventions that enable music and other performance art to flourish.Culture and Heritage – taking opportunities to tell the many stories – famous and less famous as part of an ongoing, more positive narrative. Retail, Sport and Leisure – continuing from the 2018 masterplan, enabling more diversification of the offer giving as many people as possible a reason to visit the city centre. Open, Play and Event Space – address the lack of open space and provide more opportunities for alternative and community uses. Importance of the River – maximizing the potential of the River Usk, including through new or alternative uses, physical activity, and as a feature for engaging with heritage and biodiversity.  Among the short-term proposals, that the council says can be achieved by 2027 at the latest, are a regular street food market on the riverfront by the Steel Wave, licensed busking performance stages throughout the city centre, improved street lighting, and a children’s playground.  Medium-term plans (2-7 years) include finding permanent tenants for the former Debenhams and Cineworld sites in Friars Walk, completion of the new leisure centre currently under construction on the riverfront, building a new Coleg Gwent campus (replacing the one at Nash) on the site of the former Newport Centre, increasing the use of the river, developing the ‘cabbage patch’ at Rodney Parade, and finding a new use for the Westgate Hotel. Long-term goals (7+ years) include an ambitious regeneration of the southern end of Commercial Street – demolishing disused buildings, creating a contracted but more vibrant retail area, creating a new public park, and bringing the Great Central Hall back into use. The plan needs to be approved by a scrutiny committee, Cabinet and a meeting of the full council before it is adopted as formal policy. This is likely to happen before the end of July. Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Audible Uncategorised Glide secures NatWest funding to accelerate UK broadband expansion Residential Property, Technology & Innovation, Uncategorised Principality Stadium set to host opening ceremony of EURO 2028 Tourism & Travel, Uncategorised Swansea: A city on the up! Finance, Public Sector & Government, Residential Property, Tourism & Travel, Uncategorised

HR & Culture

‘Events, Events, Events’: That’s the mantra for Newport city centre

‘Events, Events, Events’: That’s the mantra for Newport city centre ‘Events, Events, Events’: That’s the mantra for Newport city centre Kevin Ward – BID Manager, Newport Now Those of us of a certain age will remember Tony Blair’s campaign mantra of ‘education, education, education’ in the run-up to his first General Election victory in 1997. Almost 30 years later, and it is ‘events, events, events’ driving the agenda in Newport city centre. The results of creating a calendar featuring at least one major event per month have been startling, as the city centre has bucked Welsh and UK footfall trends. Since 2023, footfall in the BID area has been ahead of 2019 figures (the last full year before Covid restrictions decimated visitor numbers across the UK) and has increased steadily every month and year since then. In 2024, for instance, footfall in Newport city centre increased by 2.6% compared to the previous year. Across Wales, footfall was down 3.7% and fell by 0.7% across the UK as a whole. The uptick can be attributed almost entirely to events including the BID-organised Christmas lights switch-on, which last year brought an extra 12,000 people into Newport compared to a usual Saturday, and summer Urban Beach, which was used by almost 9,500 during August. Other events that pulled in the visitors to the city centre last year, most of which were sponsored by the BID, included the Newport Wales Marathon Festival, the Big Splash street theatre festival, Winter Wonderland, the annual food festival, and Pride in the Port. This year has seen the positive trend continue, with footfall in Newport city centre for the first quarter of 2025 up by 5.3% compared to the same period last year. In Wales for the same period, footfall was up by just 0.5% and across the UK up by 0.7%. Newport city centre faces the same problems as the vast majority of traditional high streets up and down the UK. Changes in shopping habits thanks to the rise of both the internet and out-of-town retail parks have seen many big chains disappear forever from the nation’s high streets in a relatively short space of time. Who would have thought at the turn of the century that household names like British Home Stores, Debenhams, Woolworths and WH Smith would be gone forever within a quarter of a century. Like many other places, Newport has issues with anti-social behaviour that cannot be ignored but are nowhere near as bad as the perception created by social media. Solutions have to be found to the problems facing our town and city centres and most experts agree that high streets have to become destination venues to thrive both now and into the future. The days of people popping into the city centre just to do a bit of shopping have gone. Harping on about the past with dewy-eyed nostalgia will not change that fact. The vast majority of shops in Newport city centre are now independents. Some are struggling but many, particularly those who have identified gaps in the market or who offer niche products and services, are thriving. The revitalised Newport Market, with its hugely-popular food hall packed with street food vendors serving everything from Japanese fusion and traditional Greek cuisine to burgers and pizzas, is a prime example of the city centre reinventing itself for the future. That spirit of independence, forged in Newport’s history of Chartist rebellion, can be seen right across the city centre at Newport Arcade, the Kingsway Centre, and the Corn Exchange to name but a few. Retail still has an important role to play on the high street but only if it is part of a mix of events, housing, hospitality and leisure. Increased footfall doesn’t necessarily mean everyone visiting Newport city centre is walking around with full shopping bags – but it represents a huge opportunity for businesses. Grabbing that opportunity will be the key to success as we head further into the 21st century. Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Audible Calendar Columnists Commercial Property Construction Energy Farming Finance Food & Drink HR & Culture Legal Manufacturing Marketing Mergers & Acquisitions Public Sector & Government Recruitment Residential Property Skills & Training Sustainability & Environment Technology & Innovation Tourism & Travel Transport & Infrastructure Uncategorised Admiral Money appoints Emma Powell as new CEO as Scott Cargill to move to group’s UK Insurance business ‘Shocked’, ‘Worrying’, ‘Wrong’: Reaction as Cardiff Rugby goes into administration Potential job losses as WRU announces ‘One Wales’ programme UK pension funds urged to remain calm amid Trump’s US tariff chaos

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