Newport has lost some huge names from the city in recent years.
Changing UK high streets and the pandemic have seen the city lose the likes of Debenhams, BHS, Admiral and Wildings over the years, while other historically popular nightclubs, venues and businesses have also departed in past years.
While there is cause for optimism with some fantastic local businesses thriving, as well as the redeveloped Newport Market which is set to open next month, there are some huge buildings that have never been filled years after being vacated.
Read more about some of the traders who will be in the market and its proposed opening date here.
Here are some of the buildings Newport needs to see filled as it continues to recover from the economic devastation of the pandemic.
Debenhams
After 242 years as a mainstay on UK high streets, Debenhams announced the permanent closure of all its physical UK stores after agreeing the sale of the brand to online-only retailer Boohoo for £55 million in January 2021.
A few months later the chain was winding down its physical stores in Wales, with large queues forming outside its store in Friars Walk as shoppers grabbed the last remaining bargains last May.
The shop - which was the anchor store of Friars Walk when it opened in November 2015 - was a big loss for the centre, whose management said last year that it would "continue to explore potential opportunities for the unit, with announcements to be made in due course."
Friars Walk was contacted last month regarding progress on new tenants for the centre but had not responded as of publication, and the future of the shopping centre's largest empty shop remains unclear.
Admiral
In November last year insurance firm Admiral announced it would close its offices in Cardiff and Newport.
The company, originally based in Newport and one of the city's biggest employers with around 900 staff, pulled out of Admiral House near the train station last year.
The firm will begin to reduce the amount of space it occupies in Admiral House by 50 per cent from January 2022, vacating the site completely from 2023. It said it had made the decision based on a move towards "hybrid" home working after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move was described by traders and locals as a major blow for Newport while others disputed the strength of office trade as more people move to home-working. You can read the reaction to Admiral's closure in Newport here.
In the meantime, replacing Admiral in one of the city's biggest office blocks must be a priority going forward.
BHS
British department store BHS was forced to close its 163 stores after it plunged into financial turmoil back in 2016.
The once-popular BHS store at 16-18 Commercial Street, near Chartist Tower, has lain empty ever since, serving as a daily reminder of a bygone era in Newport's retail history.
So there was some excitement when proposals to convert the site into a hub offering job centre type facilities on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions were put forward early in 2021.
However, in May the proposals were withdrawn for undisclosed reasons. No further proposals have been submitted and the building remains empty.
Wildings
Newport's oldest department store broke hearts back in August 2018 when it announced it would be closing its doors after a whopping 144 years of trading in the city centre.
Having once had 14 branches across South Wales, the store's Commercial Street outlet was the only one remaining by the 1990s before closing on January 19, 2019.
Like many along Newport's main shopping street, the building has yet to be filled more than three years later.
The Ferns
The Ferns was once a popular pub in Lliswerry having been open for more than 20 years, causing local devastation when it announced its closure in 2020.
In a statement at the time the pub's management said it was "no longer financially viable due to the high business overheads and zero income for several months resulting in huge losses," and that the pandemic had "hit businesses hard."
"We as a business have tried everything we could to keep things going even to the point of taking losses and investing our own money," they added in a statement in which they thanked their "fantastic" former and current staff and "loyal supporters that have been with us through the years".
The pub has since been boarded up and has been the site of anti-social behaviour in recent months, with no confirmed plan for what might replace it.
The Malt House
Built in the 1890s, Malt House, or The Maltings, was a three-storey red-brick industrial structure formerly used for brewery operations.
It was badly damaged back in 2005 when fire broke out during restoration work of the building, and has remained empty since despite thousands of pounds being spent.
The remains of the grade-II listed building can be seen on the approach to the Southern Distributor Road bridge.
TJs
The iconic former TJ's nightclub building on Clarence Place has been left empty since famed owner John Sicolo died in 2010.
Since 2018 there have been plans to turn the site into a budget hotel, but so far nothing has materialised. In August 2021 EasyHotel confirmed to WalesOnline that plans were at an "advanced" stage to progress the plans, but so far no target date for work has been set.
Cardiff Road filling station
The former filling station on Cardiff Road has been closed for more than 12 years and has fallen badly into dereliction. Today the site is overgrown and cordoned off by advertising hoardings.
The area, in general, has become emptier in recent years with City Carpets, previously located next door to the old filling station, moving into the nearby Harlech Retail Park.
Meanwhile, there is little trace of the filling station site being occupied.
Stowaway/Zanzibar nightclub
The former nightclub on Stow Hill once hosted the likes of Sex Pistols back in the 1970s, but it's been empty for many years since it was last in use.
The building - which was later known as the Zanzibar, Escapade, Brooklyn Heights, and Lazers - was gutted by the 2018 fire which also hit the Bethel Community Church. Work on restoring the church is ongoing, while in October 2021 plans were submitted to demolish part of the former club to make way for 37 apartments, with a decision yet to be made.
Fire and Ice
Located just off Baneswell Road, this nightclub was most recently the popular Fire and Ice but has been empty for around ten years, and there has been no activity or word of any plans to occupy it in recent times.
Maindee Pool
Maindee Pool was once the place many in Newport were first taught to swim, with its small learners pool for beginners and its larger main pool where hundreds would watch races.
The art-deco building was first opened in 1938 but closed in December 2005, as the facilities were replaced by a new pool in Spytty.
The property sustained significant fire damage in 2007 and has been left empty since.
To get the latest email updates from the What's On WalesOnline team, click here.
