THE MAYOR of Newport officially opened the brand new high street entrance to Newport Market yesterday afternoon.

Cllr Cliff Suller cut a ribbon that signalled the start of what is hoped will be a bright future for the historic building.

The ceremony marked the completion of the £1million project, funded by Newport Unlimited, to refurbish part of the building, which has stood there since 1864.

The new entrance allows direct access to the market from High Street and is expected to bring more customers through the door on a daily basis.

“This venue is a vital part of Newport,” said Cllr Suller, speaking at the opening. “By investing in this market we are also investing in our city.

“I hope this project will encourage people to find out what the market has to offer and I’m sure they will be surprised at what they find.

“We have a lot of excellent independent stores and I hope that people will include this market in their Christmas shopping trips.

“This opening is a great start to Christmas in our city.”

The refurbishment of the historic building comes as part of the major regeneration of the city centre.

Customers are guided to the market by a tall stone sign in High Street that directs them through the new entrance that is flanked by shops.

Among the new shops is @thenewsagent and the owner is already benefitting from the increase in business that the refurbishment has brought.

Jon Powell, from Newport, said: “There’s already been a massive increase in business and people.

“ I’ve seen a 50% jump in customers as we are getting around 1000 people in a day.

“Two or three years ago this place was dated, cramped and there wasn’t any access from the front but now we’ve got it all and more.

“The money needed to be spent to revitalise Newport market as it’s a fantastic building.”

It’s a similar story for other traders in the market who have found their business increase in revenue and custom since the project began.

“I now get around 100 customers a day when it never used to be that many.” said Alessandro Rimola, 25, that owns LoveFresh in the market.

“There’s a lot more foot flow through here and I’ve benefitted,” he added. “People just popping in off the street and buying something really helps.

“Once the new bus station opens it'll be even better as people will be going back and forth between there and the High Street so it will be a constant flow of customers.”