Wrexham must become 'inventive, diverse and distinctive' like Mold

That was the view of First Minister Mark Drakeford during a visit to Wrexham on Wednesday.

He agreed that nearby Mold was doing things right as the town has bucked the trend of failing high streets in the wake of the pandemic.

Mold's town centre has seen more than 50 businesses open or expand in the last two years.

As the town centre's look to make the most of the Christmas shopping season, Mold has found itself in pole position with a vacancy rate of just 5.8% – compared to the 14.5% British average.

Mold town centre.

At least 30 new businesses have opened their doors in Mold during the pandemic alone.

But despite some small bespoke businesses in places like Ty Pawb, Wrexham has not seen the same activity.

Mr Drakeford told the Leader that Mold had adapted to changing times, and other town centres in Wales, including Wrexham, would need to show the same flexibility and imagination.

Wrexham town centre.

He said: "I do think there is definitely a future for the High Street but it can't be one that harks back to the past and tried to reinvent things as they were.

"People's shopping habits have changed and people's idea of what they do on the High Street has changed.

"What you see in places like Mold is that they have developed something that's different. It's distinctive. It's not just like being on any other High Street in any other town.

"Part of our walk around was talking to a group of people who are doing renovation work on a town centre building that is going to be turned into accommodation for people. So I think the future of the High Street is a more varied set of things. We will have more people living, I hope, in the centre of towns and we will have more leisure things that bring people in. There will be, of course shops and retail, but I think it needs something distinctive about it.

"It needs to be 'I go to Wrexham because I'm going to find something different, worth going to, and that I'm not going to find anywhere else."

From wafflehouses and sushi bars to gyms and fashion boutiques, new businesses have been opening at a rapid rate in Mold where initiatives such as the relaunched Totally Mold voucher scheme have boosted footfall.

At a recent meeting of Flintshire's Environment & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee Mold, and Shotton too, were highlighted as places where vacant units were being snapped up "like hot cakes".

An entrepreneurial spirit and people valuing local independent shops during lockdown was seen as one of the reasons for the phenomenon in Flintshire.

FM Mark Drakeford talks to police in Wrexham.

But the First Minister said he was encouraged by what he had seen in Wrexham after talking to those who were investing in a new kind of High Street post-lockdown.

He added: "We are seeing more of what you would call pop up retail. We've been to Ty Pawb today and saw things there that are varied. We need to have a culture where you can try things out and, if it works, you can build from there.

"I think this sense of flexibility in the future, and the way we will work as a government in developing premises and investing in the physical side of things, and business rates, comes into it. But I think that local authorities have an important part to play too in just allowing that more agile approach into what a business idea can be."

Mr Drakeford added that the challenge was for High Streets in Wales to try new things.

He added: "A more diverse set of things will happen in High Streets, a more distinctive set of things will happen in High Streets.

"People will always want to go in. What would my mother say to me when I was growing up? 'I'm going to go down town'. Going down town is an important part of the way people think of the way they live in and meet other people. That hasn't gone away. But its about being more inventive, more diverse, and more distinctive that is the formula people will have to find away to."