PUBLIC toilets in Maindee will get a makeover today as part of a £400,000 regeneration project.

Local people have launched ‘Maindee Unlimited’, aimed at providing opportunities for people in the area, as well as making the streets more pleasant for going to the shops or taking a stroll.

A group will be on the pavements this morning, cleaning the area and also giving the public loos a makeover,

Dubbed the Maindee Spring Clean, it is being organised by a new regeneration charity that wants to put the vibrancy back into its “slightly tired community”.

Chairman David Moses said: “We talked with residents and traders just before Christmas.

“A lot of people were unhappy about how dirty the main street was, and the number of closed shops. So we’re starting with a clean up, and have plans for one of the large empty shops.”

Maindee Unlimited aims to transform the area into a sustainable community with a strong local identity, robust economy, and to give it a reputation as an attractive, safe, culturally vibrant and cohesive place to live, work and relax.

The newly registered charity has already attracted more than £400,000 in funding from the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Government. Planned initiatives include improving open spaces, and revitalising the shopping street on Chepstow Road.

Charity volunteers also hope to establish a new community building and plant a garden everyone can use.

They want to work with as many members of the community as possible and offer small grants to groups and individuals to come up with creative projects that do something positive in the area, as part of its New Paths grants scheme.

People with an idea such as painting a mural, planting trees or running a youth group can apply for funding.