PLANS for a new Coleg Gwent campus in the centre of Newport have taken an important step forward today.
The college and Newport City Council have lodged a pre-planning consultation to hear your views on their proposal to build the new campus off Usk Way.
The site is currently home to the Newport Centre, but that will be demolished and a new, larger leisure centre will be built on the opposite side of the road, on a brownfield site behind the University of South Wales building.
Together, the projects form the core of the wider vision for a so-called Knowledge Quarter in the middle of Newport, which will serve as a hub for further- and higher-education, as well as a modern leisure destination for the community.
Announcing the consultation today (Monday), city council leader Jane Mudd said the proposals would make Newport "an attractive place to live in, work in and visit".
The plans note the current Newport Centre is "considered to have reached the end of its useful life" after nearly 40 years, during which it has welcomed world-famous musicians for concerts.
It has doubled up as a Covid vaccination centre during the pandemic, and while some leisure services are still running at the centre, the main attraction - its pool - has been closed down because it would need "significant and unviable repairs" to stay open.
If the project goes ahead, the Coleg Gwent campus will be built on the same site but will be a more rectangular, and slightly larger building than the Newport Centre.
Coleg Gwent's main campus in the city is currently in Nash Road, adjacent to Lliswerry High School.
What's been said about the plans?
Cllr Mudd said: “We have been working closely with Coleg Gwent and Welsh Government on our plans to bring further education provision into the heart of the city centre.
“The Newport Knowledge Quarter will offer excellent learning environments for further and higher education helping to inspire generations of young people. Our aspiration to add a national technology institute - delivering high quality, higher level technical education and training – will be another valuable and much-needed asset for the city.
“These developments are part of our masterplan for the city centre – regeneration projects that will deliver employment, learning and training opportunities, create a more diverse mix of uses and make it an attractive place to live in, work in and visit.”
Guy Lacey, principal and chief executive of Coleg Gwent, said: “Coleg Gwent is extremely excited about the opportunity to build a brand-new campus in the city centre. It will create a truly first-class learning environment for all the people of Newport, in a location that is easy to access from all areas of the city.
“The location in the heart of the city will also see the campus make a really positive contribution to the regeneration of the city centre and will see the college providing education and training alongside the university and proposed new technology institute.
“Our plans are subject to funding from the Welsh Government, and we are working closely with officials to progress our business case through the required stages, and we look forward to making good progress on the project during the coming months.”
What happens next?
The pre-planning consultation will run until August 8.
To have your say on the plans, visit the KEW Planning website (kewplanning.co.uk/consultations/redevelopment-of-newport-centre-site).
After the consultation ends, Coleg Gwent and Newport City Council will submit an application for planning permission.
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