What next for Newport after Debenhams loss?

When Debenhams arrived in Newport it was seen as a coup for the city and the brand new Friars Walk shopping centre.

The council fought for years to attract the department store, which was opened by fashion designer Julien Macdonald in November 2015.

There were high hopes the 243-year-old chain would inject life into the city centre after years of decline.

But five years on, the department store has become the latest high street casualty.

Bought by online fashion retailer Boohoo in a £55m deal, 12,000 jobs in Debenhams' 124 UK branches are now set to go. All branches are set to close.

Debenhams has declined to reveal how many staff would be affected in Newport and Wales as a whole.

Newport Council's Conservative group leader, Matthew Evans, said the city would need "major, radical surgery" to get back on track, while the Labour council's leader Jane Mudd insisted the city still had "a good retail and hospitality offer".

As well as Newport, Wales has Debenhams stores in Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthen, Llandudno, Llanelli, Wrexham and Bangor.

But Newport could be worst affected by the hit to its economy.

According to the latest Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, it has the highest proportion of areas in the most deprived 10% in Wales - 24.2% or 23 areas.

Mr Evans insisted the city had potential, but added: "We need some major, radical surgery, and urgently, to get Newport back on track because we have had our fair share of downturns.

"The last time I walked through the city centre it was desperately sad. It needs someone to grab the bull by the horns."

Debenhams was placed in administration twice over the past two years, with the Covid pandemic proving to be the final straw.

The hole left in Friars Walk could be filled by a tourist attraction like Newport's 15th Century medieval ship, said Mr Evans.

The ship is currently being restored following its discovery in the River Usk in 2002.

"A magnet like that could attract visitors," Mr Evans said.

"It can't remain empty. It can't."

Newport Council has said it is working to help businesses through the coronavirus pandemic.

The council's leader Jane Mudd said Newport was in a "similar position" to other towns and cities losing the department store.

The council would work with Friars Walk, the Welsh Government and Newport Now Bid - which works to improve the city centre - to find a solution, she said.

"There is still a good retail and hospitality offer for residents," said Ms Mudd.

City centre premises were being turned into homes and the council had consulted on a new leisure centre and further education college for the area, she said, which would "bring over £100m public sector funding".

"If we continue to work together we can address these challenges," she added.

Newport Now Bid manager Kevin Ward said it was "not acceptable for our city centres to decline and die".

He, and colleagues in Cardiff and Swansea, have added their names to a letter from the city councils to the Welsh Government calling for support packages for the three areas.

Meanwhile, Friars Walk director Simon Pullen has said the centre would "explore potential opportunities for the unit".

Newport West MP Ruth Jones said she did not know what could fill the "humungous space" left by Debenhams.

"What are they going to put in its place?" the Labour MP asked.

"There are significant numbers of empty shops in Friars Walk."

Other businesses that have left the £90m Friars Walk development include Mothercare, Occasions Cards, Schuh, Topshop, The Candle Company, Flying Tiger, The Body Shop, Krispy Kreme, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito.

Cineworld is closed until further notice. Burger chain Five Guys and "world buffet" Cosmo were both lined up for the centre but neither opened.

Ward councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi acknowledged Debenhams was "really the only department store" in Newport.

"I think the days of department stores, the golden age, has now gone," the Labour councillor said.

Citing lottery funding for a Newport Transporter Bridge visitor centre, and the market's upcoming regeneration he insisted he was looking "on the bright side".

Father-of-two Matt Slape, who lives in Bassaleg, Newport, said he feared the space left by Debenhams "could just remain empty".

"A shopping centre is not worth having if it's full of empty units," the 35-year-old businessman said.

Deb Lewis, 60, from Pill, Newport, said she believed Friars Walk's future was bleak.

It had been "a bit of a red herring", the primary school worker said. "Debenhams was a lovely store, but way out of mine and a lot of people's price range."

Newport faced "trying times", she added.

USDAW union representative Nick Ireland said the challenge now was for the staff.

"The workforce who are affected will get redundancy but that will come through the government, because the administrators won't cough up," he said.

Debenhams joint administrator Geoff Rowley said he was "pleased" the Debenhams brand's future had been secured by the Boohoo takeover.

"We regret that this outcome does not safeguard the jobs of Debenhams' employees," he said.

The Welsh Government said Covid-19 had had "a massive impact on our high streets".

A spokesman said it was pumping "nearly £110m" into supporting the "economic and social recovery" of town and city centres.

"This includes significant investment in Newport," he added.