Town centres debate

Age Cymru has welcomed the Welsh Government’s Enterprise and Business Committee’s report into regenerating town centres, which was published on Wednesday 25 January.

The charity's Director of Influencing and Programme Development Victoria Lloyd says:

“Flourishing town centres that are able to sustain the needs of local people are key to the wellbeing of older people in Wales.

“Age Cymru is championing the concept of age-friendly communities which provide all the necessary resources and facilities – such as shops, places to meet, public toilets and seating, to make them suitable places for people to live their lives from cradle to the grave

“Town centres and high streets are the barometers of the general wellbeing of local communities across Wales and there is no doubt that these have been badly hit by the recession, with empty and boarded-up shop fronts and ‘for sale’ signs on once thriving pubs and businesses becoming an all-too familiar sight in recent years.

“Age Cymru is keen to see a concerted effort to boost our town centres and we welcome the Committee’s call for the Welsh Government to take the lead in stimulating investment from public, private and voluntary bodies to make them viable for the future”.