A PLANNING application for a new footbridge to replace the Devon Place subway will be submitted by the end of June, according to a senior council officer.

An email sent by Head of Streetscene & City Services Paul Jones confirms pre-planning works on a new bridge over Newport railways station were completed in the first week of May using Welsh Government money.

The works, which started in Autumn 2017, included design, geotechnical works and structural engineering assessments, according to the email.

The £250,000 subway “revamp” was originally included in a proposal by developers Garrison Barclay to transform the nearby Royal Mail sorting office site on Mill Street into a hotel and office space.

But after a national hotel chain pulled out of the deal in April, the Argus understands the revamp money is no longer on the table.

Instead, assuming the planning application is successful, the email by Mr Jones confirms the council will approach the Welsh Government for money to build a new footbridge.

The email, dated May 11, reads: “The construction of a footbridge over a busy station is a considerable logistical challenge and requires track procession, which is only possible a few times a year. We will need to work closely with NORSE and Network Rail to facilitate this.

“In the meantime we continue to inspect the subway daily and cleanse it once a week. We are looking to repaint it, however appreciate that this will have limited impact. We will also pick up CCTV options with our colleagues in public protection.”

Rachael Mc Coy, 37, of Queen’s Hill, met with councillors and officers on May 11, to raise concerns about the safety of the Devon Place subway on May 11, but called the meeting “frustrating” despite assurances that plans for the bridge were going ahead.

“Basically, they told me if everything goes to plan they’re looking at a date of 2020 or 2021 to actually finish the footbridge,” she said.

“It's frustrating given that this has been going on since 2008. I think it’s great that they are finally doing something with it, but the interim measures just aren’t good enough really. There have been a lot of recent incidents in the subway, and I don’t think it’s going to get better in the meantime.”

Tanya Demarco owns the Pretty Pooch dog grooming salon, which trades right next to the Devon Place entrance to the subway, and said council plans to install security cameras was a good idea and could solve a lot of problems.

“You often see people taking drugs down there,” she said.

“ We have older customers who walk through it and it definitely makes them uncomfortable.”

Tracy Evans has used the subway to get to and from her place of work on Devon Place for the last three years, and described it as “pretty ropey”.

“The smell is the worst. In general I don’t feel unsafe using it, but there are moment when you come across people taking drugs in there that can be quite frightening.”

Another user, who didn’t want to be named, said: “I think it’s a useful route more than anything else. I don’t mind walking through it at all. But it does seem to leak and get a bit wet sometimes.”