FRIARS Walk celebrated its three month anniversary yesterday.

The development, which cost £100 million to bring to life, began trading on Thursday November 12 as thousands of residents from across the city lined up to catch a glimpse of the city’s newest addition.

Featuring 11 restaurants, a cinema and a string of famous brands from the retail world, residents and shop owners have given their views on the shopping and leisure complex 72 days on.

Retailer Scott Jeffries moved his jewellery business from Skinner Street to the new site said Jeffries Fine Jewellers is on the up.

"We were extremely pleased with the increased footfall and seeing so many of our customers back shopping in Newport again was a real pleasure," he said.

"Weekend sales have more than doubled since Friars Walk has opened, thanks to Sunday openings and more people coming to the city centre on Saturdays due to the cinema and large range of restaurants.

"This seems to be just the start of the regeneration of Newport, and it is very exciting to see both the plans for Jeffries and Friars Walk."

"We can't wait to see what the rest of 2016 has in store,” Mr Jeffries added.

In addition to stores moving across the city into Friars Walk, high street brands such as H&M and M&S have also noted the buzz behind the shopping complex since opening their doors.

M&S Foodhall manager Sian Young, said: “The store is proving popular with customers and we have been delighted by the support we’ve received from the local community over the last few months.”

Later this spring, Superbowl UK will bring a 12-lane bowling alley will open at Friars Walk, including a soft-play area and a laser quest zone.

Many shoppers and residents from Newport believe that Friars Walk has restored a certain level of pride in the city.

Mike Malolepszy said: “Newport was an embarrassment to local people. Now we can have some pride in our city centre.

"It is great to see the buzz around the eateries, and the shops are brilliant too, especially Debenhams. Hopefully this will keep Newport people shopping in Newport rather than elsewhere as well as attracting shoppers from the surrounding areas."

Belinda Gale said she was equally impressed.

"It's so nice to be able to walk into town and see nice restaurants and not have to travel out of Newport for a meal,” she said.

“I am looking forward to more shop openings and local businesses doing well.”

However, not everyone shares the view that Friars Walk has changed the city centre for the better.

Emma Mayers from Abersychan said: “I visited Friars Walk over the Christmas period for the first time. I wasn't at all impressed and I would have rather gone to Cwmbran with its free parking or Cardiff.

“I don't think I'd bother going there again which is a shame as with all the hype I thought it would have been better."

“They built Kingsway a few years ago and it has never been fully occupied so why they feel the need to waste money on another shopping mall right next door amazes me,” she added.

Newport City Council recently confirmed that shopping footfall in the city has risen by 17 per cent from the same period in 2014, and is at its highest level since 2008.

The leader of Newport City Council, councillor Bob Bright, said: “We now have a city centre we can be proud of, and one that caters for visitors’ needs, whether that is shopping, leisure or work.

“We are also seeing exciting new and returning businesses to our city centre who will be contributing millions of pounds to our local economy, which will bring significant benefits for many years to come”.

The council added that in a recent survey, Newport was ranked as the best city in Wales to start up a business. It finished 28th out of 69 cities surveyed across the UK.