A NEW café will be opened in Tredegar after plans were given the green light by Blaenau Gwent council.
The business at a former butcher's shop in Commercial Street, Tredegar, has been approved despite Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s policy stating that permissions for change of use should only be granted if they generate an additional shop or retail outlet.
In the planning meeting the council’s service manager for development and estates, Steve Smith, said Tredegar is struggling to fill its empty properties.
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He said: “There’s a case here, it’s better to have premises opening for trading than staying empty.”
The planning report says: “The Blaenau Gwent Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) monitors the percentage of A1 (shops and retailers) uses in the primary retail area.
“The 2019 AMR shows that the percentage of A1 uses in the primary retail area declined by 17 per cent between 2009 and 2019, and the primary retail area’s vacancy rate in 2019 was higher (30 per cent) than that of the district town centre as a whole (21 per cent).”
The report also says that the percentage of food and drink outlets in Tredegar’s primary retail area is only four per cent, which is lower than other areas.
The planning committee approved the plans subject to compliance with the approved plans and documents.
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