MALPAS Road runs through the heart of Malpas, connecting Newport and Cwmbran, but tucked away at the side of the long road are small clusters of both independent shops and big brands.

Kay Lavender, 55, owns Lavande Designer Wear, a handmade dress store specialising in weddings and proms which sits at the bottom of the road.

The store has been there since 1991, Ms Lavender thinks she might be the oldest established shop on the road.

“Business is great here. I’ve had dresses at the Royal Albert Hall and the Welsh Baftas, both women that wore them said that it was great to wear something from Wales. We could have left but we chose not to.

“I actually love Newport, I’m glad people come to this store instead of going to London.

“We’re quite close to the M4 so we get people from all over coming just for the dresses. There is problem with parking but I have such a unique selling point - I hand make all of my dresses here on the site.

Half way up Malpas Road, though still far enough up to enjoy a scenic view, lies Malpas Pharmacy.

Malpas Pharmacy also sells Yankee Candles, cards and little trinkets.

Geoff Thomas, 54, who has owned the pharmacy for 15 years, said: “We tried to make it more like a gift shop because that’s what we feel the community is really missing. That’s why we sell bath bombs, candles and other gift items. There’s nothing really like that in Malpas.”

Mr Thomas said that with the new look and new products, comes a new business strategy.

“My staff have been telling me for ages that we need to get online, get on Facebook and Twitter. I think getting on social media and promoting what we do here is the next step,” he said.

“It’s really hard to get a pharmacy because you need to get a certain licence off the local health board, so we wanted to do this one right.”

Mr Thomas explains: “We have just had our best month yet, so I bought a bottle of prosecco for each member of staff.”

A short walk upwards is CJ’s Fish and Chips. Owner, Naz Mohammad,59, said CJ’s is lucky to have a car park.

He said: “We are next to the road crossing so we do get more footfall then most businesses here, but our car park makes all of the difference.

“Customers who do not live close by can drive to us and get their food.

“Business is good here. We actually had a store in Cardiff too but decided to sell it.”

Mr Mohammed spoke between serving customers and replenishing food stock.

On the other side of the crossing is The Ivy Florist.

Florist Karen Bailey, 38, has been at The Ivy for a year and a half, but the store has been there around 14 years.

She said: “I think it’s very great here. It’s a busy road and we’re always busy in the store.”

Further up the road, located at Russell Drive, is Rico’s Grooming Salon, a five-year-old dog groomers, who were busy shampooing.

But up and down Malpas Road is a collection of charming businesses like this, waiting for a passers-by to charm.