MARKS and Spencer has joined the chorus of discontented Newport traders complaining about the city's parking.

The general manager complained after the Argus revealed on Tuesday how Kingsway retailers claimed the closure of the centre's car park hit profits.

Graham Hutton said: "It's terrible. Diabolical. We've got an abundance of car parks but some of them close while there's late night shopping."

A Newport council spokeswoman disagreed with his claims, saying that only two council-run car parks close at 7pm - an hour before the end of late-night shopping - while the rest stay open beyond that.

But the M&S boss welcomed the planned £100 million transformation of Newport - including the redevelopment of the Kingsway and Capitol car parks - saying it would eventually give the city a massive boost.

"Any competition is healthy. It brings in customers and it would be very good for Newport."

Mr Hutton's comments came after many traders in the Kingsway Shopping Centre reported a dramatic slump in pre-Christmas profits.

Carole Mattelle, manageress of Richmond Shoes, said: "I think it's down to the car park closing - business has gone right down. Newport needs the big shops to bring the people in because they're all going to these out-of-town places."

The redevelopment plan - by Rhys (Newport) Limited, a partnership between joint owners of the Kingsway Centre Dawnay Day and Lehman Brothers - would see the new centre covering a little under 500,000 sq ft.

The proposal, which includes a hotel and new food store, will be discussed at a city council meeting in January.

The director of Newport city centre partnership, Malcolm Hall, said the sooner the development was given the green light the better.

A city council spokeswoman said they were fully aware of the parking issue. She said: "During city centre redevelopment an extra 600 spaces will be made available in addition to those already in place. These spaces will be made available through a park and ride scheme which will bring shoppers into the heart of the city."