Newport on the rise

With a new restaurant opening earlier this month and another major retailer just announcing their move to the already busy Friars Walk development, it’s hard not to feel a real sense of optimism about Newport at the moment.

My constituency of Newport East ranges from Caldicot to the heart of Newport, and across the constituency many look to the centre of Newport for shopping, jobs, and recreation. Which is why the progress of the last few years is so welcome.

Friars Walk has had a fantastic start. It’s very well occupied and is attracting crowds of people back into the city centre. It is estimated that Newport’s footfall will rise to 10-12 million visits per year.

It’s a great example of partnership between businesses and the public sector. Newport Council took a strong lead to make this happen, and the developers have delivered a fantastic asset to the city. Welsh Government funding was provided too.

But it goes much wider. The Welsh Government has a scheme called Vibrant and Viable Places. It’s a regeneration framework we set up to invest in jobs and growth. Newport Council has secured £15 million of this to help make the city and the wider region thrive again.

Partnerships with the third and private sectors will see up to £60 million invested – a major amount on top of Friars Walk. This regeneration is providing homes in the city, the regeneration of Newport Market and empty properties, and more. On top of this, Welsh Government invested £4 million in Newport Bus Station and bus stops, to improve public transport.

Although there are still challenges, Newport feels very much on the rise.

St David’s half-marathon

Many of you will have seen work has begun on the new St Davids Hospice. The Welsh Government are investing £3 million in this – welcome news for an organisation many of us know does fantastic work.

I’m pleased to say I will be running the St David’s ‘Admiral City of Newport Half Marathon’ again this year. It’s a superb event for a good cause, and I hope everyone running it enjoys the day. I’ll be posting pictures on my twitter account @J_GriffithsAM

Even if you’re not running, you can come along to cheer the runners on: details are at www.cityofnewporthalfmarathon.com