NEWPORT has been named in a top ten list of town centres that have been regenerated by local authorities from across Britain.

The Friar's Walk development is hailed as an 'exemplar project' showing the benefits of 'joint public and private sector collaboration to bring forward much needed town centre regeneration'.

The report has been launched today by the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC), the membership body for the retail property industry.

The industry-leading local authorities and exemplar projects are:

• Bradford Metropolitan District Council –City Park Bradford

• Oldham Council – The Old Town Hall at Parliament Square

• Sheffield City Council – Sheffield City Market

• Walsall Council – Old Square Walsall

• Newport City Council – Friars Walk

• Ealing Borough Council – Ealing Film Quarter

• Hounslow Council – Hounslow High Street Quarter

• Dacorum Borough Council – Hemel Hempstead Town Centre

• Woking Borough Council – Woking Shopping

The report, 'Enabling Retail Development – the importance of local authority leadership and positive partnerships’, celebrates nine local authorities who have pioneered town centre regeneration in the face of significant obstacles.

The clear conclusion is that councils who produce strong local plans, are prepared to accept some of the risk of development and work proactively and positively with the private sector, secure greater levels of investment, bringing about sustainable development and civic vitality.

John Coyne, chief executive, BCSC said: “Development viability and local leadership are critical factors when retail property developers make investment decisions. As such, investors need assurance from a proactive and engaged local authority partner if they are to be willing to commit investing time and money into complex regeneration schemes. The benefits that such proactively and engagement can bring are perfectly presented in this report, and the creativity and commitment offered by the local authorities selected is evident.”

Paul Sargent, Chief Executive, of Queensberry Real Estate, who have been delivering Friar's Walk, said: “Development of large ‘retail only’ schemes may now be rare. Yet, retail continues to play a pivotal role as part of mixed-use regeneration in town and city centres. It is clear from these case studies that those councils taking a proactive approach to achieve bespoke funding solutions with developers will have a greater chance to ensure project viability, encouraging more investment.”