MONEY spent into locally based businesses goes round five times more than money spent into a multinational company such as Tesco or River Island.

This is the key problem with clone towns, where the profits gained from local people are siphoned right out of the locality and into the pockets of shareholders, none of whom are likely to live or spend in Newport.

Newport taxpayers also pay for the infrastructure such as roads and pavements, street cleaning and buses, which make the city an attractive place, and they deserve recognition for this. One way to honour the taxpayers’ investment is for these multinationals to pay into a Social Fund for the further development of the city. This could be about 0.5 per cent of the profits of the larger stores involved.

Internet buying is gaining in importance and scale. We still need our town centre, but even a blind man can see that we need less retail.

There simply are not enough retailers to go round, and Newport is now competing with itself, with Spytty Park, Commercial Street and now Friars Walk vying for customers.

More housing, entertainment, offices, and civic spaces are needed to replace the empty shop fronts, not more shops.

I do not think the Friars Walk development is the best option for Newport, but I respect democracy, and will support all plans to make our city a better place.

Pippa Bartolotti Yewberry Lane Malpas