Haverfordwest town centre has become the focus of renewed political debate after a Reform UK Senedd Member urged immediate action on parking and vacant shops rather than relying on a new Welsh Government taskforce.
Demand for quick fixes over more committees
Claire Archibald, who represents Ceredigion Penfro, dismissed the recently announced Town Centre Taskforce as “another talking shop” and set out a series of measures she says would deliver practical relief for towns including Haverfordwest and Aberystwyth.
"Plaid have announced a town centre taskforce, but our high streets do not need another talking shop or more plans to make plans from this government. It is about time Wales saw fewer taskforces and more decisive action from the Welsh Government."
Ms Archibald proposed a universal two hours’ free parking across Welsh towns as a means to encourage shoppers back into town centres and to support struggling high streets. She also urged stronger council powers to control concentrations of certain kinds of outlets and suggested financial incentives to bring empty premises back into use.
What the reform proposals include
Her recommendations, drawn from the announcement and her subsequent comments, aim to tackle three immediate pressures on town centres:
- introducing two hours’ free parking in town centre car parks;
- granting councils tougher powers to manage the concentration of vape shops, betting shops and similar businesses;
- making it cheaper for landlords to rent commercial buildings than to leave them empty, coupled with grants to convert vacant units.
Ms Archibald argued these measures would deliver more immediate change than the formation of a taskforce, which she characterised as planning for planning’s sake.
Welsh Government response and the new taskforce
The Welsh Government has said the Town Centre Taskforce is intended to give practical expert advice and to develop recommendations for ministers to secure the future of Welsh town centres. The body will be co-chaired by regeneration and placemaking practitioner Tamsin Ramasut and entrepreneur Professor Simon Gibson CBE, with members drawn from experts across the field.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Taskforce purpose | Provide practical expert advice and develop recommendations for ministers |
| Co-chairs | Tamsin Ramasut; Professor Simon Gibson CBE |
| Reform proposal (headline) | Two hours’ free parking; stronger local powers; incentives for landlords |
While the Welsh Government emphasises the taskforce’s role in shaping ministerial action, Ms Archibald said towns such as Haverfordwest need immediate and decisive steps to reverse falling footfall and the proliferation of vacant units.
Local implications
Parking charges at council-operated car parks in Haverfordwest currently vary, and there is no universal two-hour free-parking scheme. Traders and shoppers in the county town regularly cite parking convenience and the diversity of retail as key factors in choosing where to spend. Ms Archibald’s proposals are aimed at both encouraging short visits and at broadening the retail mix by limiting concentrations of particular types of businesses.
Her suggested economic levers — making it cheaper to let commercial space than to leave it empty and offering conversion grants — are intended to reduce long-term vacancies and stimulate new uses for under‑utilised premises. The Welsh Government’s taskforce, by contrast, will seek to bring together expertise to recommend longer-term interventions across Wales.
For Haverfordwest residents and businesses the debate raises familiar questions about the balance between immediate local measures and the kind of strategic, expert-led planning the Welsh Government says the taskforce will provide. Whether two hours’ free parking and tighter controls on certain shop types will be adopted remains for ministers and local authorities to consider in the context of wider town-centre recovery efforts.
This report summarises public statements and the government announcement as they relate to Haverfordwest and the surrounding area.
