The Friars Walk development will create work for 650 people at its height, with most of them coming from Wales, according to developers Queensberry Real Estate.

Martin Tresidder, the senior development manager for the £90m Friars Walk retail and leisure scheme which is due to take 21 months to complete, said the contractors Bowmer and Kirkland would have 450 people on site once the scheme really gets going and a further 200 would be employed during the fit-out phase of the development. He said that it was usual for the workforce to made up of mainly local people on schemes such as this.

Mr Tresidder, who is based at the Queensberry site offices at Chartists Tower in the city centre, said the building work would not be bringing the city centre to a halt.

“In fact, there will be 650 people working here at the peak of the scheme all wanting breakfasts and lunch in the city centre. That can only be good for the local economy,” he said.

Mr Tresidder, whose office overlooks the development site, said both Queensberry and Derbyshire-based Bowmer and Kirkland were delighted to be on site.

“At the moment the demolition is still going on but the contractors are also on site preparing it for the work to begin.

“For the first few months, there won’t be much to see as we will be doing a lot of the ground work and preparation but during the summer the steel structures for the buildings will start going up and things will really start to take shape. That’s when the people of the city will see what’s going on here.

“We will start with what will become Debenhams. We’ve still got to demolish part of the former Iceland building and put in a new fascia.

“There is a lot to do but it is extremely exciting to be on site. We have been working on this project for two years and it is fantastic that we are up and running.”

Mr Tresidder previously managed the Southgate retail scheme in Bath for Queensberry.

Friars Walk, which is being backed by a £90m loan from Newport City Council, is due to open in November 2015. Already signed to take space at Debenhams, Cineworld, Next, Topshop and a number of restaurants including Nandos and Cosmo. Three more major high street names are all set to sign to take a further 45,000 sq ft. They are due to be announced in the next couple of months.