Former Bangor Senedd Member and now Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, Siân Gwenllian, has welcomed new investment in Bangor city centre and said the city must be at the heart of efforts to rethink the future of high streets across Wales.
Ms Gwenllian represented Bangor in the Senedd between 2016 and 2026, before boundary changes came into effect at May’s Senedd election.
Reflecting on her decade representing the city, she said Bangor had always meant much more to her than a constituency.
“Bangor is the city where I grew up, went to school and spent much of my youth,” she said. “I remember going to watch football at Farrar Road, and I have always felt incredibly proud to speak up for Bangor in our national parliament.”
Ms Gwenllian said the future of Bangor city centre had been one of the issues she campaigned on most consistently during her time in the Senedd.
She acknowledged there was no simple solution to the decline experienced by high streets, with changing shopping habits, online and out-of-town retail, the Covid pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and the loss of local services all contributing to the pressures facing town centres.
“We need to think differently about what our town centres are for,” she said. “They need to be places where people live, work, meet, spend time and enjoy themselves – not simply places to shop.”
Ms Gwenllian said she was proud that, as the Welsh Government Minister responsible for town centres, she had launched the new Town Centre Taskforce in Bangor.
The Taskforce brings together representatives from business, local government, planning, regeneration, universities and communities to look at practical ways of tackling town centre decline, increasing footfall, supporting businesses and attracting investment.
Ms Gwenllian added: “Bangor is a city that shows many of the challenges facing town centres across Wales.
“Their job is not simply to talk about the problems, but to find practical things we can do to give our town centres a stronger future.”
The launch comes alongside confirmation of an additional £654,000 investment in Bangor city centre.
According to Ms Gwenllian, the funding will be used to transform the green area between Pontio and Bangor Cathedral into a more attractive and accessible space capable of hosting a range of outdoor activities, while improving connections between different parts of the city.
She said the £654,000 comes on top of substantial public and private investment in Bangor over recent years and forms part of £63 million of investment across Wales, with further investment expected.
“Our city centres deserve investment, ambition and a long-term plan,” Ms Gwenllian said.
“I am proud that, with Plaid Cymru in government, we are getting on with the job of making that happen.”
