Newport Council - Retail Development - Newport, Kingsway Centre
Date: 03 Sep 2002
Newport Council today (Tuesday 3rd September) welcomed the submission of Rhys (Newport) Limited’s planning application saying that it will transform the heart of the city centre.
The £100 million proposal tackles the redevelopment of the Kingsway Centre, Kingsway and Capitol car parks. The scheme includes a new modern car park with capacity for 1370 vehicles and additional pedestrian routes through from John Frost Square to the riverfront. A 100,000sq ft department store is included in the scheme, which the city council believes will be key to attracting other retailers and shoppers to Newport. In addition the scheme includes a 75,000sq ft food store.
The city council has put in place a car parking strategy to ensure that whilst the development takes place, the public still has easy access to the city centre. The strategy includes the opening of two new surface car parks a few minutes walk from the city centre and a park and ride facility which will take users no more than five minutes to get to the centre of Newport.
Sir Harry Jones, Leader of Newport City Council welcomed the application saying that the proposal has the potential to transform the look and shopping experience offered by the city centre.
“The application is great news for Newport and will help to establish us as a major retail centre. The city council has worked hard to attract such a prestigious and far reaching scheme to Newport. The proposal could completely transform and breath new life into Newport city centre. The new shops and architecture will help to attract people back to Newport. We believe that the proposal by Rhys (Newport) Limited meets the aspirations of the council and of the people of Newport to strengthen the shopping experience in Newport.This is another example of how by forming a good working partnership between the public and private sectors, the council can bring success to Newport. This scheme along with the Ryder Cup and city status are huge boosts to Newport and are a great sense of celebration for us.”
Councillor Graham Dally, cabinet member for transport and sustainable development said that he was delighted that the scheme included new car parking with extra capacity:
“We are naturally concerned to ensure that shoppers can continue to gain easy access to the city centre whilst the new car park is built and have put in place a strategy to bring forward replacement car parking facilities. Already 350 new spaces have been created along the riverfront, close to the Kingsway and once construction work begins a park and ride facility will be established running from Old Town Dock – no more than five minutes from the centre of town.“
John Jenkins, cabinet member for development and employment said:
“This is great news for Newport and demonstrates the confidence that investors have in the new city. The construction work and the new shops will provide new jobs and will be a big boost to the local economy.
“The scheme is a step on the way to helping Newport achieve its aspirations for improved shopping. We want a greater number and variety of shops in Newport and see this scheme as helping us to achieve this. We believe that the benefits of this new scheme will be felt by existing city centre traders as more people are encouraged to shop in Newport.”
Go ahead for the scheme is subject to planning permission, which will be considered by Newport planners later this year.
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