Demolition starts at Cambrian car park in Newport (From South Wales Argus)
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Demolition starts at Cambrian car park in Newport
12:30pm Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in News
DEMOLITION STARTS: Workers on site at the Cambrian multi-storey car park in
Newport WORK has started in Newport city centre as the Cambrian development gets under way.
The council-owned Cambrian multi-storey car park closed on December 31 so Scarborough Development Group could begin work on the major redevelopment.
A seven-storey office block will replace the existing shopping centre and the 500-space car park, which will be demolished, with additional plans to build shops and a hotel.
On its completion, the insurance company Admiral is set to move its Newport base from Langstone to the new site, bringing hundreds of workers to the city centre.
A spokeswoman for Newport Council told the Argus last month: “Together with the Friars Walk shopping and leisure scheme, due to be completed in 2015, these are vital strands of the city centre’s regeneration. While it’s acknowledged there will be some disruption in the short-term, it’s believed these projects and the massive investment in the city centre will bring lasting, long-term benefit.”
Comments(49)
maud123
says...
2:54pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Jinxey
says...
3:04pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Nothing is happening to regenerate Newport City Centre - people moan.. and then when work starts people still moan about silly things such as parking?
There is a car park at the Cambrian Centre that will be used for Admiral and for shoppers. Does it matter if Admiral pays to use the car park? They are paying to move to the city centre which can only benefit the place! There is adequate unused parking spaces all over the place if you haven't already noticed?
Why can't people try and be more positive about Newport? I for one am very glad to see work beginning on an area of the town which has pretty much lost its identity over the past few years.
maud123
says...
3:46pm Wed 23 Jan 13
yes it is good that things are moving INTO the centre instead of out but the council doesnt make it easy for businesses or the workers to do that.
heresphil
says...
4:15pm Wed 23 Jan 13
NewportMum
says...
5:21pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Dave on his Soapbox
says...
5:51pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Also according to the council site 490 Admiral workers will move to the site....which is partly to allow for expansion into new insurance markets......even with some staff opting to use public transport...surely as part of this development is retail....it's hardly going to improve the parking situation for the city cente.....
just ask the staff who moved into the city centre campus.....which only has 10 spaces for disabled and visitors....
JoJoJoJo
says...
6:19pm Wed 23 Jan 13
D Taylor
says...
6:47pm Wed 23 Jan 13
D Taylor
says...
6:48pm Wed 23 Jan 13
D Taylor
says...
7:23pm Wed 23 Jan 13
ne.co.uk/business-in
-wales/commercial-pr
operty-wales/2013/01
/16/geldards-advises
-admiral-on-its-offi
ce-development-in-ne
wport-91466-32606982
/
Strider
says...
9:02pm Wed 23 Jan 13
D Taylor wrote:I was wondering the same thing 'D' somebody said 'Spoons was being demolished...
Oh, and what will happen to Wetherspoons in Cambrian road? It's time the Argus addressed important questions like this.
The plans on the council website show Admiral being built onto the car park next to the old Cinema and it looks like the budget hotel is coming down as well from the plans..
The 'Argus' has been promising to tell us whats going on with the M4 Consultation since last October and still nothing.. Same with the Engineers house plan they've gone quiet on that
Limestonecowboy
says...
9:06pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Magor
says...
9:13pm Wed 23 Jan 13
cath 872 wrote:I went to the new M&S parked right outside and spent £80,this is money spent in Newport which would otherwise have been spent in Cardiff or Cribbs.I have not been to the old M&S for years.
Friars Walk completed by 2015? It hasn't even started yet. And are we really going to have a Debenhams store surrounded by rows of empty shops? I can't see that happening. If M&S had stayed they would have done very well at lunchtimes from the Admiral staff when their new building is up. I went to see the new M&S at Spytty, the old one was better.
f
Spytty is the future of shopping in Newport.I would not be surprised if Debenhams move to the old Megabowl.
Jinxey
says...
11:10pm Wed 23 Jan 13
D Taylor wrote:Pretty sure the existing units are unaffected and are incorporated.
Oh, and what will happen to Wetherspoons in Cambrian road? It's time the Argus addressed important questions like this.
Strider
says...
11:33pm Wed 23 Jan 13
Limestonecowboy wrote:Do you mean " Wetherspoons is too close, stop all development"?
Shock horror! Wetherspoons to close stop all development!
rightsideup
says...
7:41am Thu 24 Jan 13
DavidMclean
says...
9:59am Thu 24 Jan 13
Debenhams will NEVER invest in Newport while it is in the state it's in. They will do the maths and look at footfall and spend potential of Newport people and wouldn't even consider coming. If M&S are moving out that tells you everything you need to know.
As for Friars Walk. Why do they think this will be a success? If they can't make what is already here work, what magic will the new development have? And if (a long shot) it did work, that would simply mean that previous developments in Newport have been badly thought through and badly planned. In other words, a waste of OUR money!
Friars Walk will be another waste of money. But hey! Some developer will do very nicely out of it.
We are beyond saving Newport City Centre. We now need to start to think about reinventing it.
D Taylor
says...
10:06am Thu 24 Jan 13
Jinxey wrote:Thank God for that.
D Taylor wrote:Pretty sure the existing units are unaffected and are incorporated.
Oh, and what will happen to Wetherspoons in Cambrian road? It's time the Argus addressed important questions like this.
pds
says...
11:53am Thu 24 Jan 13
The developers will do the bare minimum to keep the projects "live" and keep the council on-side. For further details on this plan, refer to "Old Art College".
D Taylor
says...
3:55pm Thu 24 Jan 13
NewportMum
says...
6:38pm Thu 24 Jan 13
Floppy backed
says...
8:24pm Thu 24 Jan 13
Strider
says...
8:45pm Thu 24 Jan 13
Not demolishing the Chav friendly 'Breeze' is the stupid planning decision ever!!! The adjoining car park is in a bad state of repair and has little parking space, I suppose its more important that a few chavs get a Night out!!
The 'Labour Council block the previous Hotel development for being too high and the whole car park was coming down
Ian MacKinlay
says...
2:52am Fri 25 Jan 13
Magor wrote:"I would not be surprised if Debenhams move to the old Megabowl.”
cath 872 wrote:I went to the new M&S parked right outside and spent £80,this is money spent in Newport which would otherwise have been spent in Cardiff or Cribbs.I have not been to the old M&S for years.
Friars Walk completed by 2015? It hasn't even started yet. And are we really going to have a Debenhams store surrounded by rows of empty shops? I can't see that happening. If M&S had stayed they would have done very well at lunchtimes from the Admiral staff when their new building is up. I went to see the new M&S at Spytty, the old one was better.
f
Spytty is the future of shopping in Newport.I would not be surprised if Debenhams move to the old Megabowl.
Sh . . .sh !
Ian MacKinlay
says...
3:04am Fri 25 Jan 13
Jinxey wrote:"There is a car park at the Cambrian Centre that will be used for Admiral and for shoppers".
Why are people always moaning on this website?
Nothing is happening to regenerate Newport City Centre - people moan.. and then when work starts people still moan about silly things such as parking?
There is a car park at the Cambrian Centre that will be used for Admiral and for shoppers. Does it matter if Admiral pays to use the car park? They are paying to move to the city centre which can only benefit the place! There is adequate unused parking spaces all over the place if you haven't already noticed?
Why can't people try and be more positive about Newport? I for one am very glad to see work beginning on an area of the town which has pretty much lost its identity over the past few years.
Well, yes. But they are just pulling one down.
And as for parking spaces, you have not got a clue, have you?
If you see lots of parking spaces, that is because nobody wanted to use the parking spaces, because nobody wanted to use the shops, because they didn't want to use the expensive car parks, when they could go elsewhere and park for nowt, you . . .
er, hm, you see!
pds
says...
9:45am Fri 25 Jan 13
D Taylor wrote:You can't run a business like Admiral without offering attractive jobs to get good staff. An important part of the package is office environment (including access to shops and surroundings). That's why Admiral should care about things like parking and location. The only people who ignore such things are government agencies, and that's why they end up with demotivated staff and are unable to perform their function.
Admiral always rent not buy. See above statement by Edwards Geldard re acting for Admiral in legal matters re new Newport and Cardiff offices. Admiral don't care if M&s is closed. What they after is a modern office building with first class communications. The new development gives them that. They don't care if shops are shut. What's that to them?
The Geldard article says nothing about Admiral's commitment - does anybody actually know what they have signed?
D Taylor
says...
2:19pm Fri 25 Jan 13
Owain Vaughan
says...
2:31pm Fri 25 Jan 13
Strider wrote:The adjoining car park is the first bit to be demolished! It was in a bad state of repair because it was due to be torn down.
Passing the Cambrian today they've demolished a lot.. Admiral will definitely come to Newport obviously close to the Railway station, Bus Station(when its finished and Car Parking.. Doubt it will revive Newport shops fortunes!!
Not demolishing the Chav friendly 'Breeze' is the stupid planning decision ever!!! The adjoining car park is in a bad state of repair and has little parking space, I suppose its more important that a few chavs get a Night out!!
The 'Labour Council block the previous Hotel development for being too high and the whole car park was coming down
Which "previous hotel development" are you referring to? City Spires? That was fully approved by the council.
pds
says...
2:47pm Fri 25 Jan 13
D Taylor wrote:Having no shops in Langstone is not a big problem because the attraction is the easy access by road and availability of parking. They would no have this in Cambrian so they would need nearby services like shops.
There aren't many shops at Langstone where they are now. I think you are missing the point that Admiral are already in Newport. Albeit a semi-rural part of the city. As an illustration of how good this site is,moving to Cambrian puts their office just 2 hours from the centre of London by rail. A simiar office in Bristol, say, would cost far more and offer them nothing better.
Your illustration is meaningless - why does an office worker based in Newport even care how long it takes to get to London? Obviously that's in the mix when deciding on location, but it's not nearly as important as keeping your local staff happy.
Strider
says...
7:32pm Fri 25 Jan 13
Regarding the ground floor parking its mostly concrete pillars and the parking spaces are quite narrow... As the pub backs onto it, it would seem more logical to demolish the whole building
D Taylor
says...
8:07pm Fri 25 Jan 13
pds wrote:I'm not suggesting that office staff are going to be frequently jumping on trains to London. I am just using London as an example of how good this location is for a large, expanding company who presumably value good road and rail links to the rest of Britain. And, they probably do have reason to go up to the City and have people come down to Wales from time to time. Communications with Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, the West Country and the Birmingham and the Midlands are also excellent from Newport.
D Taylor wrote:Having no shops in Langstone is not a big problem because the attraction is the easy access by road and availability of parking. They would no have this in Cambrian so they would need nearby services like shops.
There aren't many shops at Langstone where they are now. I think you are missing the point that Admiral are already in Newport. Albeit a semi-rural part of the city. As an illustration of how good this site is,moving to Cambrian puts their office just 2 hours from the centre of London by rail. A simiar office in Bristol, say, would cost far more and offer them nothing better.
Your illustration is meaningless - why does an office worker based in Newport even care how long it takes to get to London? Obviously that's in the mix when deciding on location, but it's not nearly as important as keeping your local staff happy.
scraptheWAG
says...
8:57am Sat 26 Jan 13
Independentvoter
says...
9:34am Sat 26 Jan 13
Now who would say such a nasty insulting thing like that ?
Is it the severely Disabled people who :
Cannot get this Council to provide a little care in their homes which they are legally entitled too, or a disabled centre even ?
or is it our pensioners who cannot have access to one hot basic meal a day - Meals on Wheels in Newport ?
or is it the residents that ask to keep community centres like Pill or Underwood open so their children have somewhere safe to go ?
or is it the people who have to pay inflated prices just to bury a loved one ?
or is it the elderly and disabled residents of Care homes which are due to close ?
or is it the residents that just want a quiet life and not Travellers Sites full of Gypsies stealing scrap metal, illegal tipping etc housed next to their homes ?
or is it some Labour, Tory or Lib dem Councillor telling us to Shut Up !
Well I got a message for them - Your seats are not safe at the next local government elections, so don't get too comfortable up at the Civic.
.
The residents of Newport are not going to shut up. Some are going to contest your seats !
Serving Councillors have all seemed to have lost the will to serve its constituents up at the Civic Centre now that we found out about their Allowance Scams.
I dont think that even with a new coalition between all parties in Newport will beat the new Independent Candidates.
Owain Vaughan
says...
10:46am Sat 26 Jan 13
Strider wrote:There was a site visit, but the application was granted. It was not "blocked" as you stated. Perhaps posters could try a little more objectivity and a lot less negativity?
Owain I believe it was 'City Spire's'... I remember the Argus running a story that the Council was worried that the building would be tall and wanted to view the Cambrian before giving the go ahead for planning permission..
Regarding the ground floor parking its mostly concrete pillars and the parking spaces are quite narrow... As the pub backs onto it, it would seem more logical to demolish the whole building
Woodgnome
says...
11:23am Sat 26 Jan 13
cath 872
says...
9:14pm Sat 26 Jan 13
Ian MacKinlay
says...
1:38am Sun 27 Jan 13
Do you think the new one will be any different?
The "old" one was a disgrace to begin with. But ignoring everything that was wrong with it, for the moment, once it was built it was never maintained.
The clock went and was never fixed or replaced.
It leaked above the seats, but the leaks were never fixed.
The pigeon droppings are hard-adhered to some of the seats and no attempt is ever made to clean them.
What makes you think a brand spanking new bus station, perfect in every way, will be any different after a short while?
It won't, because its newness will not bring with it the change of attitude to such things, which is so sadly lacking in Newport.
Jinxey
says...
10:18am Sun 27 Jan 13
Ian MacKinlay wrote:Not a clue?! That is the exact point I was making.... There is no need for all these spaces as no one is going to use them and as a result a decreased amount of spaces will have no negative effect in the short term, possibly even long term.
Jinxey wrote:"There is a car park at the Cambrian Centre that will be used for Admiral and for shoppers".
Why are people always moaning on this website?
Nothing is happening to regenerate Newport City Centre - people moan.. and then when work starts people still moan about silly things such as parking?
There is a car park at the Cambrian Centre that will be used for Admiral and for shoppers. Does it matter if Admiral pays to use the car park? They are paying to move to the city centre which can only benefit the place! There is adequate unused parking spaces all over the place if you haven't already noticed?
Why can't people try and be more positive about Newport? I for one am very glad to see work beginning on an area of the town which has pretty much lost its identity over the past few years.
Well, yes. But they are just pulling one down.
And as for parking spaces, you have not got a clue, have you?
If you see lots of parking spaces, that is because nobody wanted to use the parking spaces, because nobody wanted to use the shops, because they didn't want to use the expensive car parks, when they could go elsewhere and park for nowt, you . . .
er, hm, you see!
Nearby Kingsway Centre usually has floors of free spaces and 2 hours free, unlike the council owned car parks in February. 2 hours in Newport city centre is enough for anybody!
Strider
says...
12:33pm Sun 27 Jan 13
Owain Vaughan wrote:I know it was granted, what I meant was the Argus reported "the Councillors needed to view the Cambrian before approving it as they where unsure how large the building was"
Strider wrote:There was a site visit, but the application was granted. It was not "blocked" as you stated. Perhaps posters could try a little more objectivity and a lot less negativity?
Owain I believe it was 'City Spire's'... I remember the Argus running a story that the Council was worried that the building would be tall and wanted to view the Cambrian before giving the go ahead for planning permission..
Regarding the ground floor parking its mostly concrete pillars and the parking spaces are quite narrow... As the pub backs onto it, it would seem more logical to demolish the whole building
As the elected representative's of Newport it gives the impression they never bother to come to Newport.. I still personally believe that Admiral won't revive Newports fortune apart from the cafe owners in Cambrian who will do ell out of it!
I also notice a police enforcement notices in all Iffy's joints; the gist of it appears they have broken Licensing terms.. I wonder if the two new hotels have anything to with this? Glad to see Deliahs go anyway
NewportMum
says...
12:51pm Sun 27 Jan 13
NewportMum
says...
1:25pm Sun 27 Jan 13
http://www.estatesga
zette.com/blogs/focu
s/2012/01/why-admira
l-picked-scarborough
-developments-in-new
port.html
D Taylor
says...
3:32pm Sun 27 Jan 13
NewportMum wrote:Thanks for that. It is interesting in particular because they were choosing between two Newport city centre sites, both close to the railway station. I've never heard of he Central Point development before. Presumably that won't go ahead without a tenant in place first.
This is interesting:
http://www.estatesga
zette.com/blogs/focu
s/2012/01/why-admira
l-picked-scarborough
-developments-in-new
port.html
Also interesting comment about shift working and the need for a car park.
scraptheWAG
says...
8:00pm Sun 27 Jan 13
despicableme
says...
11:40am Mon 28 Jan 13
cath 872 wrote:In what way was the old one better?
Friars Walk completed by 2015? It hasn't even started yet. And are we really going to have a Debenhams store surrounded by rows of empty shops? I can't see that happening. If M&S had stayed they would have done very well at lunchtimes from the Admiral staff when their new building is up. I went to see the new M&S at Spytty, the old one was better.
f
D Taylor
says...
8:26pm Mon 28 Jan 13
despicableme wrote:I had a look with my wife today and I also think that the old one was better. The Commercial Street shop had a solid, permanent feel. It was carpeted and comfortable. The new one is like a warehouse, with no carpets and plumbing exposed in the ceilings. No class at all. It could be Next or Peacocks. Apart from the addition of the Per Una range the clothes were the same. Trousers for men still either 29'' or 31'' long. Which is no good if you wear 30'' trousers as I do. My wife couldn't find everything she wanted either. Won't be back in a hurry. Disappointed.
cath 872 wrote:In what way was the old one better?
Friars Walk completed by 2015? It hasn't even started yet. And are we really going to have a Debenhams store surrounded by rows of empty shops? I can't see that happening. If M&S had stayed they would have done very well at lunchtimes from the Admiral staff when their new building is up. I went to see the new M&S at Spytty, the old one was better.
f
Jonos44
says...
8:07pm Tue 29 Jan 13
portman
says...
11:46pm Tue 29 Jan 13
D Taylor
says...
11:49pm Tue 29 Jan 13
cath 872 says...
2:12pm Wed 23 Jan 13
f