TEN years after Newport won city status, St Asaph in North Wales joined Newport, Bangor, Cardiff, St Davids and Swansea to become Wales' newest city.

It has a population of around 3,400 - around a fifteenth of the size of fellow new city Perth in Scotland.

St Asaph is six miles south of the perhaps more well-known seaside town Rhyl, which has been a holiday destination for many living in the north west of England for decades.

It grew around its cathedral, originally founded in the sixth century. The place of worship is the smallest ancient cathedral in Britain - measuring just 182ft long and 68ft wide.

While "neighbouring’’ cities such as Liverpool and Manchester can boast giant shopping centres, St Asaph's main retail complex is an out-of-town shopping outlet called Tweedmill that attracts around 500,000 shoppers a year.

And St Asaph's main website lists just 21 premises in its shopping section.

Football fans may also not be aware of the north Wales city's team - St Asaph FC, who play in the Vale of Clwyd and Conwy Premier League.

Their ground Roe Plas Meadows is a local park, with no stands or seating areas, and is where the local council use a committee room to stage their monthly meetings.

However, more well known is one of St Asaph's most famous sons - record Liverpool and Wales goalscorer Ian Rush.

Other notable former residents include the late composer William Mathias, best known for writing a hymn for Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 1981 wedding, Wales' first archbishop Alfred George Edwards, female professional golfer Becky Brewerton and Lisa Scott-Lee, vocalist with pop act Steps.

Church leaders in St Asaph rejoiced at today's news - and said despite St Asaph's size its big contribution to Welsh history should not be overlooked.

The Bishop of St Asaph, the Right Reverend Dr Gregory Cameron, said: "I am delighted these decisions are made not on the size of the population but on the quality of community life.

"St Asaph is a delightful community of which I am very proud to be a part.’’ And town mayor Andrew Thomas also argued St Asaph deserved its city status - saying it was long overdue.

He said: "We are one of the last of the original places in the UK with a cathedral to be awarded this status - following the disestablishment of the church some 1,400 years ago.

"So you could say it's an oversight which has at last been rectified.

"Anyway, size does not really matter as we have plenty to offer. We have 4,000 people in employment, which is bigger than the number of people who live here. Not many places can boast that.’’ However, although St Asaph's city status may have been met with surprise from residents and non-locals alike, it is still not the smallest city in Britain.

That accolade still belongs to St Davids in Pembrokeshire, west Wales, which is home to just over 1,700 people.


Celebrate a decade of Newport's city status with our supplement in today's Argus

South Wales Argus: Untitled-3.jpg