Reports of rising visitor numbers to Newport city centre have been called into question after the publication of new data.
Cllr Mark Howells said he was concerned “claims portraying a picture of growth” were based on monthly changes rather than annual comparisons.
New figures for the period from April to July this year show city-centre footfall had actually decreased – by between 0.3% and 6.6% – when compared with the same months in 2025.
Newport City Council acknowledged a “slight decline” in visitor numbers but said the figures still “bucked the national trend” for high street footfall.
The local authority has accepted there are difficulties comparing footfall counts before and after new footfall-tracking cameras were installed in April 2025.
But Cllr Howells argued a more accurate pattern of change could only be achieved by comparing the same months in different years, rather than saying a given month had more or fewer visitors than the previous month.
Following his request for the annual comparisons, the council said footfall in April 2026 was down 6.6% when compared with April 2025.
Smaller decreases were also recorded in the data this year for May (down 4.6%), June (down 1.4%) and July (down 0.3%) compared to the same months in 2025.
“Now that we have a full twelve months of data, the answer is clear,” said Cllr Howells.
“I welcome the fact that the decline has slowed each month – that is good news and credit is due to the businesses and traders working hard to bring people into the city.
“But a smaller fall is still a fall, and it is not the same as the growth being portrayed.”
Cllr Howells added: “Residents and businesses deserve an honest picture of how the city centre is performing.
“If we only look at the figures that suit us, we will never fix the problems. Getting the data right is the first step towards a city centre plan that actually works.”
Cllr James Clarke, the cabinet member for regeneration and business growth, said the figures should be read in a wider context.
“According to data from the British Retail Consortium, national figures and national retail footfall across UK high streets decreased by 6.2% year-on-year in June and by 3.8% year-on-year in July,” he said.
“While Newport city centre also saw a decrease in footfall year-on-year in June and July, our figures were significantly better than the national levels.”
A council spokesperson also said the figures compared favourably to the national average, adding the local authority is “proud of our mix of city-centre businesses – particularly our high percentage of independent traders – and will continue to do what we can to support them”.
Incentives include various grants, the council’s own business rates relief scheme, and events such as the upcoming Christmas lights switch-on party and the returning Winter Wonderland.
Held in early October, this year’s edition of the annual food festival also brought 135,000 people into the city centre, the spokesperson added.
The council has also confirmed it will offer visitors the first two hours’ parking free at a series of its city-centre car parks between November 2 and January 3.
