CITY council leader Jane Mudd has backed the South Wales Argus We're Backing Newport campaign to champion the best of the city.

We've re-launched our campaign to show why Newport is a great place in which to live, work, and do business.

“We have much to celebrate in Newport - fantastic residents, strong communities, brilliant businesses, both large and small from major employers to great independents; a vibrant and growing cultural scene, a rich heritage, and some exciting projects that will continue to regenerate our city," Cllr Mudd said.

"I’m delighted the Argus is launching this campaign as it will highlight the many, many reasons we should be proud to live in Newport.”

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Cllr Mudd said Newport's strength was its people.

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"There’s a lot of positivity here in the city, and there are some very strong entrepreneurship and skills - people who really want to make a difference," she said.

"We’ve got a strong creative community. There are lots of people in the city who’ve got great ideas [which] contribute to the prosperity of the city.

"If you stop to consider the impact that the Newport Rising festival has had - they’re people from our creative community; people from Newport wanting to do something about Newport - look at the reach of it and how it attracted people into the city centre."

Cllr Mudd was elected as council leader in November, and speaking to the Argus about her aspirations for Newport, she said the regeneration of the city centre was one of her priorities.

Ongoing work to increase the number of city centre residential properties, such as in Commercial Street, at the old King's Hotel, and in Olympia House (the old passport office building), would "have a transformational effect", she said.

"If you think about the change that’s going to come about because there’s an increase in residents, there’ll be an increase in footfall [and] the natural surveillance increases, building on the notion of a 24-hour city where people feel safe to live, to work, and to play.

"That will increase over the next 12-18 months as more people move into that city centre accommodation. Those people will be spending money there, as well, so it benefits the traders [and] the city. It’s a natural catalyst to change."

Cllr Mudd dismissed the idea Newport had sometimes been overlooked at the expense of its larger neighbours Cardiff and Bristol, but said the city was in a "period of positive transition" from traditional industries to new ones based on emerging technologies such as semiconductors, software, and cyber-security.

"I understand that because people can’t necessarily see that, they may not recognise that it’s here, but it is here and it’s growing - the level of interest in businesses establishing themselves here because of that is quite significant," she said.

The council would continue to support the city's small, independent businesses, she added, as well as encouraging the "businesses of the future" to make their homes in Newport.

Cllr Mudd said the council expected a number of positive changes in the city over the next 12-18 months.

"The Chartist hotel is well on track for completion, and that’s going to make a positive addition in terms of people coming into the city centre, and I would add to that the Argus choosing to relocate itself," she said. "What you’ll see is not just a physical transformation, but also a social and cultural transformation, which I believe will be positive for everybody."