THE front of a Wetherspoons pub in Newport is to be demolished to accommodate the building of a new office block above it.

The six-storey office and education building will be built above the John Wallace Linton pub on the corner of Cambrian Road and Queensway after SDG Ltd were granted planning permission.

As a result, the front façade of the pub building and all of the service yard near it will be demolished, with the new frontage tying into the design of the office building.

Speaking at a meeting of Newport council’s planning committee yesterday, planning officer Stephen Williams said talks were ongoing about the building being used by the University of Wales’ national software academy.

Commenting on the building’s design, Marshfield councillor Richard White said: “All it would present is a cube to anyone visiting Newport coming out of the station., which I think is something that has been missed.

“That elevation could have been made a bit more interesting.”

Fearing an increase in traffic, Allt-yr-yn councillor Dave Fouweather said motorists working in the city often park in his ward and then walk into the city.

He said: “It’s not acceptable for the residents of Allt-yr-yn to have to pick up all the problems of all the parking all the time.”

Deputy chairwoman, Bettws councillor Val Delahaye, lamented: “I would be sad to lose the front of Wetherspoon because I love the front of Wetherspoons – just the ground floor.

“It’s traditional and I just wished that didn’t have to go.”

Despite the concerns, following a vote of the eight members of the planning committee, planning permission was unanimously granted.