THERE is much to commend in the Newport business development task force's report to the Welsh Government.

Re:Newport - as the task force is called - is a private sector group asked by the Welsh Government to review how to re-energise the city centre.

We liked the way Re:Newport went about its business, accepting ideas from the people of Newport with open arms in a variety of ways, including more than 100 face-to-face meetings.

And we like much of what is included in its report.

But what we like most is the positivity that oozes from every page and every word of the report.

We have said time and again that one of the biggest obstacles to progress in Newport is the ingrained negativity of some of its leaders and residents.

So it is a breath of fresh air to read a report from people who have built businesses in the city that focuses largely on how to build on the things that Newport does well.

The city's fine architecture above street level, its place at the vanguard of digital commerce, its sporting success, and its history from the Romans to the Chartists are all central to the Re:Newport report.

Re:Newport's recommendations require finance, of course, and to put a tick against everything will require cash from the Assembly and some radical thinking from the public and private sectors.

But nothing in the report is unachievable. It just needs some positivity.