Cwmbran 'In Shops' to close: Relocation promise by centre
The shopping centre's owners have confirmed the M Cwmbran Indoor Market will close in June. The ground floor market is part of a building known The Mall which also previously housed a cinema and bingo hall on the first and second floors.
Planners have given permission for the change of use of the ground floor indoor market, in Monmouth Square, at the southern end of the town centre to allow it to be used as 'Flip Out' that could include trampolining, soft play, inflatables and ninja tag among other activities. Flip Out is expected to create up to 40 full and part-time jobs and there will also be a cafe on site and the whole building now has D2 planning permission that covers leisure uses.
Torfaen Borough Council's planning department received eight objections to the change of use application and 18 supportive comments. It was claimed existing traders cannot afford to move to other parts of the centre 'due to extortionate rents and rates' and there was also complaints at a lack of consultation with market traders.
An objection also said the centre, which is now officially known as M Cwmbran, would be left with 'only coffee shops and places to eat' if the market closed.
Shopping centre owners L&C Investments, which made the application, said it intends permanently closing the loss making market, which is commonly known by its former name 'In Shops', regardless of the outcome of the planning application.
A statement provided to the council said: 'Rising electricity costs, labour and services costs coupled with a steady decline in occupiers has led to sustained financial loss since the applicant attempted to rescue the market from closing previously in 2022.
'The outcome of this change of use application aside, the applicant has reached the decision that the indoor market can no longer be operated and must therefore close permanently.'
A report by council planning officer Simon Pritchard, which approved the change of use application, said the fate of the market is out of the hands of the planning department.
He stated: 'Whilst the comments received are fully appreciated, this is a commercial decision and the loss of the indoor space, can not be controlled by the local planning authority.'
The report also stated how L&C Investments has said it will support traders and other new businesses.
A statement from the firm said: 'We remain committed to providing high quality incubation space for our local start up business community and are working hard to deliver a series of new opportunities within Cwmbran. These will include additional exterior sheltered pitches from which traders can directly access the high levels of footfall around town.
'Future plans will also include the reprovision of a smaller higher quality indoor space offering flexible opportunities to local traders. LCP, part of M Core, will work closely with the remaining occupiers currently within the market space to provide relocation opportunities in more commercially viable areas of the town.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
What I Own: I'm a millionaire with eight properties – my home cost £396,000
Welcome back to What I Own – Metro's property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder. This week, we're down in Crawley in West Sussex chatting to self-made millionaire James Soper, who moved into his £396,000 home in 2021. Growing up in a council house, James never expected to get on the property ladder. But after he made his first investment in a buy-to-let home when he was 22, he was slowly able to grow his portfolio. Fast forward 10 years, and he owns seven rental investments, as well as his three-bedroom home, which he shares with his wife and son. Here's what James had to say about their property journey… You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK's leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won't charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. I'm James Soper, originally from Croydon and now living in Crawley in West Sussex with my wife Lisa and son Aston. I grew up in council and emergency housing, which gave me the drive to set up my own company at 23 and invest in property. I own a double-glazing company in Smallfield (close to Gatwick) and a property development company. I buy, sell, and rent out the properties I currently own. I'm trying to build a large portfolio. My first ever BTL investment was when I was 22. Since then, I have purchased, sold, and rented out around 10 properties, and I currently own seven rental investments plus my house. I'm currently looking at investing up north now, as I've always invested in Croydon, South London. I was a self-made millionaire before the age of 30, which is something I am very proud of considering my background. I always try and encourage others to do the same. You can achieve anything. Crawley in West Sussex, and I love the area. I moved from Croydon four years ago and didn't look back. When my wife and I looked at the property, we instantly fell in love with it. Our home is down a private road with no other houses opposite us, and we also have a field and a park a three-minute walk away. April 2021. £396,000. It was a good investment as the property is currently worth around £500,000. £70,000. My current mortgage is £1,508 per calendar month. The water bill costs £48, gas and electric £201, private road maintenance £31.33, and council tax £210. Through my double-glazing company and previous property investments. Not really, as before buying my own place to live in, I had already bought and rented a few properties, so I knew the process well. Two years fixed at 4.74%. I was living with my mum and brother in South Croydon. I wanted a place where I could do what I wanted to it! And a place which is mine. We found it on Rightmove. We liked the location as my wife (girlfriend at the time) lived in the area, and I wanted to move out of Croydon. The price was good, and the property was in good condition. We also liked that we had no houses opposite us. I was used to looking for properties which I could make money on, but this one was different, as this was for me. This property was a new build with only one previous owner before us, so everything we did was for us, which was fun. We both like modern styles, so we went with whites, creams, and some greys. Over the last few years, I've converted my garage, replaced my ensuite, added new flooring and extra furniture such as a TV bed and hot tap in the kitchen. I've also fully landscaped the garden with artificial grass and built a raised patio area with a hot tub and external TV. Probably my garage, as it has my car in it, which I can see from the hot tub in the garden! I've also converted it especially. It's fully plastered, decorated, and has aluminium bi-folding doors on the side. Yes, but it would be nice to have a bit more, as you can't get enough space! I would love a double garage as I would like another supercar to put in there. We did investigate doing a loft conversion briefly but decided against that idea as it would impact our landing too much, so currently, no. No. If you're a first-time buyer, try and save for a 10% deposit as you will get better rates and this will open up borrowing to more lenders. More Trending If you live at home with your parents, then keep doing that and save as much money as possible! There isn't anything wrong with living with parents – if anything, it's sensible. If you don't have the luxury of living with parents, I would suggest living below your means, even if this means renting a room on the cheap or living with friends and then saving for a couple of years for a deposit. View More » I would say we plan on staying here for a long time. The house is exactly how we want it, and it's cheap to run. We could afford something larger/more expensive, but I'm only 32 and plan on investing every penny I make for the next few decades. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: This is the best London neighbourhood to be LGBTQ+ in 2025 MORE: Savvy Brits are snagging cheaper homes thanks to new law MORE: Dad left 'in misery' after ceiling collapses three times in London home
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
This is the best London neighbourhood to be LGBTQ+ in 2025
For LGBTQ+ people, picking a place to live isn't just about balancing budgets and commuting needs. We also need to consider our safety, and how open the area is to accommodating queer and trans people. Just south of the River Thames, the London borough of Lambeth has one of the highest LGBTQ+ populations in the country – and it's bustling with queer spaces. According to the latest Census, 8.3% of Lambeth's residents are LGBTQ+, while neighbouring Southwark rests at 8.1%. The only other area to trump both was the City of London, at 10.3%. Of the top 10 local authorities with the highest number of LGBTQ+ residents, seven were in London, while Brighton and Hove unsurprisingly took home the prize as the gayest neighbourhood in England and Wales at 10.7%. Contrary to popular belief, though, not everywhere in London is always sparkles and glitter. Safety remains an issue, as one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced hate crime on TfL services, while queer venues remain under threat. Between 2006 and 2022, more than half of London's LGBTQ+ spaces closed, with numbers falling from 125 to just 50. With that in mind, it's more important than ever that LGBTQ+ people feel safe in their living situation – whether that means access to a queer-friendly yoga session, or a gay bar to dance the night away. You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK's leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won't charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. From Vauxhall to Brixton (AKA, the home of queer pop festival Mighty Hoopla), there's so much in Lambeth enticing queer and trans people to the area. For starters, there's the iconic Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Hailed as the 'beating heart of Vauxhall,' it's the oldest surviving queer venue in South London – a title which has earned it Grade II-listed status. Built between 1860 and 1862, drag shows were reportedly held there as early as the post-WWII years as servicemen returned from war. Throughout the 1980s, Lily Savage (Paul O'Grady's drag persona) had a regular show there, taking to the stage four times a week for eight years – long before The Lily Savage Show first aired in 1997. Gay icon Princess Diana was also known to frequent the beloved RVT and was once smuggled into the venue by Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett. They dolled her up in men's clothes, and no one batted an eyelid. These days, the RVT channels the spirit of Pride 365 days a year, with regular performances from the likes of David Hoyle and Myra DuBois. Also in Vauxhall, LGBTQ+ bar and club Eagle serves up tipples aplenty in their beer garden, and hosts residents Horse Meat Disco every Sunday. Beats the end of the weekend scaries, right? Serving up drag and cabaret to Lambeth locals since it first threw open its doors in 1981, the Two Brewers in Clapham is still open seven days a week. It's not just wall-to-wall partying either: there are also sober-friendly events, including Sheila Simmonds' famous Busy Lady Bingo and RuPaul's Drag Race UK live streamings. Just around the corner in the borough of Southwark, there's also the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre, a not-for-profit space for queer and trans people that hosts everything from LGBTQ+ ballet to co-working spaces, meditation and writing clubs. June might mark Pride Month, but the reality is that LGBTQ+ people still face issues accessing housing. Research from Stonewall shows that almost one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced homelessness; these statistics increase to 25% of all trans people. The majority of these cases are caused by direct rejection from families over their LGBTQ+ identity, too, as 77% of people surveyed by akt said that 'family rejection, abuse or being asked to leave home' was the cause of their homelessness. Shortly before becoming homeless, more than 50% had their family members force them to stop expressing their LGBTQ+ identity, figures which rise to 64% for trans people and 55% for disabled people. More Trending The University of Stirling also finds that LGBTQ+ people have poorer housing outcomes than their straight and cis counterparts, too. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people specifically are less likely to own their own homes, while throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there were instances of gay and bisexual men having their mortgage applications refused because of the stigma tied to the HIV/AIDS crisis. View More » So, we've still got a long way to go to carve out safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people – not just in housing and in London, but everywhere. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Widow fined more than £1,000 by parking wardens after council delays Blue Badge renewal MORE: I can be myself in the UK – but now I can't go home MORE: Map reveals UK cheating hotspot where the most people have been unfaithful
Metro
4 days ago
- Metro
Savvy Brits are snagging cheaper homes thanks to new law
The upcoming Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act is set to make life easier for those wanting to get on the property ladder — and savvy buyers are taking advantage now. At the moment, homeowners with leasehold agreements – commonly seen in flats – don't own the land their property sits on, and need to make extra rental payments to the freeholder (sometimes known as a landlord). But the new act changes this, making it both cheaper and easier for people to either extend their leasehold, or buy the freehold themselves. While we're still waiting on the act to become law (it's recently been given Royal Assent), it means that people are now snapping up properties with short leases. Previously, these homes may not have been an attractive investment, given the considerable time, paperwork – and money – required to increase the terms of a lease. As such, they often stay on the market for longer than similar properties, or come with a lower price tag to reflect the additional cost to the new owner. You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK's leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won't charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. But with the changes outlined in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act expected to come into force at some point this year, some are now speculating that getting in on short lease homes before the change will pay off later. As Andrew Binstock, co-founder and auctioneer at Auction House London explains, buyers are increasingly keen to invest in homes that'll need the lease extending in a few years' time, in the hope that once this policy comes through, the renewal process will be a relative walk in the park. 'Short leasehold flats are attracting strong demand – we have offered over 150 so far this year,' Andrew told This Is Money, which he puts down to buyers' growing confidence around the reform. And, there are bargains to be had. A one-bedroom flat in upmarket Chelsea with just eight years left on the lease is up for auction with a guide price of just £120,000 – drastically below the area's average sale price of £1,272,260. Do we smell a potential steal? The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act was passed in May 2024, but many of the measures are being introduced gradually. In a nutshell, it will: Make it both cheaper and easier for leaseholders to either extend their lease or buy their freehold by removing the need to pay the freeholders' costs and eradicating the marriage value (AKA the automatic increase in a property's worth after the lease has been extended). At present, the leaseholder has to share 50% of the increased value with the freeholder, which can be costly . Increase the standard lease extension term to 990 years Give more leaseholders the right to take over management of their building Ban new leasehold houses (with a few exceptions) Require landlords to be more transparent about service charges. As property expert and Yopa's national franchise director, Steve Anderson, tells Metro, it takes a lot of effort to increase the terms of a lease – and it can also be expensive. He explains: 'The task becomes greater the shorter the lease term gets and, in worst-case scenarios, failure to extend a lease can not only hit the value of a home, but ultimately, see ownership transferred back to the freeholder.' After buying a property, homeowners can ask to increase the lease term at any point – but as Steve notes, after two years, you're entitled to a 90-year extension as long as you're the qualifying tenant (AKA, the leaseholder who owns the property's lease). 'This is almost always the case if your original lease was for more than 21 years,' he adds. So, how short is a short lease? Generally speaking, properties with less than 80 years remaining fall into this bracket. While the new law won't change the definition of a short lease, it'll increase the standard extension length to 990 years. Historically, there's been relative risk in buying a short lease home as it can make it harder to sell on in the future. However, once the new laws have come into effect, it'll be easier and cheaper to extend the lease anyhow. So, those buying a short lease home now might be hoping to snap up a cheap bargain, with the hopes of extending it and pocketing a profit later on. Extending a lease can take anywhere between three and 12 months and involves the following steps: Notifying the freeholder of your intention to extend the lease Hiring a solicitor who specialises in leasehold extension, as well as a surveyor Submitting an offer to the freeholder Negotiating the terms of the extension with the freeholder and agreeing a price Paying the deposit, which should be done within 14 days of giving the leaseholder notice. This usually costs either £250 or 10% of the lease cost agreed in the notice Completing the lease extension by paying the extension costs, as well as any fees (i.e. to the solicitor and surveyor). After the extension costs and legal fees have been accounted for, renewing a lease of 90 years can cost around £8,500. But with anything under 90 years, the fees can really start to stack up. 'If looking to extend a lease of just 60 years, this cost increases to as much as £32,000, so it really does make sense to do this earlier rather than later,' Steve says. However, standard lease terms will be increased to 990 years with Labour's new legislation (making a property more attractive to future buyers as they won't have to renew again down the line) and sometimes hefty ground rents could be 'essentially reduced to zero [known as a peppercorn] upon payment of a premium.' 'Leaseholders will be able to extend their lease by a new standard 990 years with a ground rent at zero,' Steve adds. 'This is a substantial increase from the previous 90-year extension for flats and 50 years for houses, thus providing greater long-term security.' In addition, the outlay associated with renewal would be lower, alongside the extra value added as a result of extending the lease no longer needing to be split with the freeholder (marriage value). For many, that could make the whole rigmarole more worthwhile. 'Purchasing a leasehold property could become more appealing to homebuyers and, in doing so, they could save themselves some money in the process,' Steve says. More Trending 'A property with 70 to 80 years remaining on the lease could be subject to discounts as high as 15% on average, which equates to £40,000 on the current average UK house price.' Buyers with a remaining lease term of around 50 years could nab themselves an even bigger bargain, as Steve predicts there could be discounts of up to 25% on market value, which equates to £68,000 off the average home. View More » But the bottom line is, while it might be tempting to bank on costs being lower in the future, you'll need to consider the risk in waiting for the law to come through in full. If things don't go to plan, you could be left hanging – and crucially, burdened with the cost of a leasehold extension. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Dad left 'in misery' after ceiling collapses three times in London home MORE: This 'soulless' UK town is being knocked down and locals are surprisingly on board MORE: The 'friendly' UK town homebuyers are flocking to — where properties cost £159,176
