August 12, 2026 - 172 views
Bangor is at the heart of a new Welsh Government drive to breathe life into town centres across Wales, with more than £650,000 being invested in public realm improvements in the city.
A new Town Centre Taskforce has been established to look at how Welsh towns can adapt to changing shopping habits, economic pressures and the changing role of high streets.
Tamsin Ramasut and Professor Simon Gibson CBE have been appointed as its co-chairs, with the taskforce expected to produce practical recommendations to Welsh Ministers.
The announcement was made during a visit to projects in Bangor city centre, where £654,000 of Welsh Government funding for public realm improvements was confirmed.
A further £350,000 is being made available to support the future regeneration of the Rhiw Shopping Centre in Bridgend.
Bangor has been chosen as one of the first places to benefit from the latest funding at a time when its city centre has faced many of the problems experienced by high streets across North Wales and the rest of the UK.
The city has seen the loss of major retailers including Debenhams, Topshop and H&M, while parts of the High Street have suffered from empty premises, reduced footfall and a lack of investment.
Bangor City Council has previously described the section of the High Street between the Cathedral and Dean Street as having been in decline for many years, with empty shops and signs of disrepair making it harder to attract new businesses and investment.
The challenge is not simply about retail. Bangor's city centre is also having to adapt to what people now expect from a town centre – with leisure, services, community facilities, culture, education and places to meet increasingly important alongside traditional shops.
There have already been attempts to put some of those ideas into practice.
An empty High Street shop has been turned into Tŷ Cyfle, a community learning centre offering education, employability and digital skills opportunities, as well as legal advice through Bangor University's Law Clinic.
Elsewhere, projects have sought to improve public spaces and tackle issues around accessibility, safety and anti-social behaviour. Work at Bangor University's College Park, for example, followed concerns including poor links between upper and lower Bangor, dense vegetation, anti-social behaviour and safety.
The Welsh Government says the new taskforce will work with business, local government, regeneration specialists, planners, academics and communities to find ways of increasing footfall, supporting Welsh businesses, attracting investment and making town centres more resilient.
Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning Siân Gwenllian said town centres remained at the heart of communities, but acknowledged they faced "significant challenges" as consumer behaviour and the role of town centres continued to change.
She said the taskforce would "champion the future of Welsh town centres" and help challenge decline while encouraging new uses for town-centre buildings.
For Bangor, the latest investment represents another opportunity to tackle some long-standing problems – but also raises the bigger question of what the city centre should look like in the years ahead.
With Bangor serving as an important regional centre for North Wales, its fortunes extend beyond the city itself.
The challenge will be to create a centre that is not simply somewhere to shop, but somewhere people want to spend time, work, learn, meet and visit.
The Welsh Government says the Town Centre Taskforce is a 100-day commitment and will provide practical advice to Ministers on securing the long-term future of towns and city centres across Wales.
Bridgend will also be among the places looking to benefit, with £350,000 earmarked for the future regeneration of the Rhiw Shopping Centre.
The hope is that the lessons from Bangor, Bridgend and other communities can help shape a new approach to town-centre regeneration across Wales.
Photo: IMG YouTube
