Population: 137,011 (2001 Census)

Aerial photo I took of the whole city:
http://img54.exs.cx/img54/1866/newportaerialphoto4od.jpg

Zoomed into the city centre:
http://img54.exs.cx/img54/9814/newportcitycentreaerialphoto0v.jpg


Some of my photos of the city centre (taken 07/07/03)

Panorama of the view east along the river:
http://img54.exs.cx/img54/7772/riverpano3yt.jpg

Small office block on the east side of the river. Newport Castle window.
http://img54.exs.cx/img54/6981/eastbankofficeblock0fs.jpg http://img54.exs.cx/img54/2360/newportcastlewindow8iy.jpg

View of Newport Arts Centre U/C with the city's tallest building behind, taken from the east bank of the river:
http://img54.exs.cx/img54/1986/artscentreandcitycentre0hk.jpg


Other photos of Newport from the internet

Newport Transporter Bridge:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/fun/wallpaper/pages/images/newport_transporter800.jpg

An unusually green photo of the city centre:
http://www.invest-in-the-uk.com/graphics_area/NewportDevboardImage.gif

Castle:
http://www.newportmon.wanadoo.co.uk/Castle.gif

Some of the nicer buildings in Newport (yes there are some, they’re just hidden)
http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk/upload/ngscan_NDbuildingbig.jpg


The Newport Arts Centre

The Newport Arts Centre was finished at the end of 2004

Photos from the internet (I can’t find any decent ones, only arty ones that show bits of it and one photo of it part built):

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc//images/portfolio_previews/p0000000318.jpghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/onshow/images/onlocation/riverfront_200.jpg

http://people.bath.ac.uk/ab3sjp/images/photographs/arts_centre.jpg

I haven’t seen it completed, from the photos I think it looks all right but not amazing.


Newport Unlimited Plans
Newport's Urban Regeneration Company, called Newport Unlimited was set up in 2002. Their plans for the city, if fully realised, will completely transform it. More specifically (considering this is a skyscraper forum), their plans include a number of landmark high rise buildings for the city centre.

Block diagrams of the city taken from the plans on Newport Unlimited's website show three distinct high rise buildings planned for the city centre:

http://img54.exs.cx/img54/3794/stationarea1dd.jpg

http://img54.exs.cx/img54/5697/johnfrostsquare4hd.jpg

There is particular mention of plans for the area around the station:
Station District
• Promote a landmark development at the Cambrian Centre and
investigate the opportunity to provide a tall building within the
development
(www.newportunlimited.com)

The plans as a whole are for the city up to the year 2020. However, we should be seeing the Cambrian Centre "landmark" development as early as next year in the form of this:
http://city.newport.net/P4_Cambrian_Centre_lg.jpg

A 27 story residential tower plus retail and offices on the site of the Cambrian Centre. Construction is due to start this summer!

News from Newport City Council's website:
Cambrian Road development
Newport City Council Planning Committee has approved plans by Goldtique Investments to redevelop the City’s Cambrian Centre, opposite Newport High St. Rail Station.

Designed by architects Holder Mathias, the project involves the retention of some of the retail units on Cambrian Road and the demolition of the existing car park. A new 27 storey residential building, shops and about 67,000 sq. ft net of offices will be created, together with a new 100 plus bedroom hotel and a more efficient, larger car park.

The proposed scheme will be a dramatic change from the existing buildings. The multi-storey apartment block will create a new landmark for Newport with views over the city and the River Usk. Construction is expected to start early summer 2005.
(www.newport.gov.uk)

Also there's this 17 story residential tower due to form part of the city's main shopping centre redevelopment.
http://city.newport.net/P5_shops.jpg

New footbridge over the Usk, about to start construction
http://city.newport.net/Bridge/001.jpg

Hopefully, considering the speed that developers snapped up the Cambrian Centre site, we'll see quite a few more "landmark" buildings in Newport. I have a suspicion that Newport might just be a place to watch!


Good websites for info on developments in Newport:
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/bdbsearch.php?cs=0&city=Newport
http://city.newport.net/
http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/index.cfm
http://www.newportunlimited.co.uk

the future's bright for newport. And about time cause it's not the nicest place in the world (to put it nicely). And a three welsh city skyscraper battle is always welcome

Looks very good :) Is Newport part of the Cardiff metro?

pretty much, could even argue it's a cardiff district. But the 'portians wont like that ;)

how big is newport?

think the city itself is about 175,000 population (not including near large towns like cwmbran and pontypool).

hmm, thats not a bad starting block. A big population is vital for forcing small town country yokels out of the plac.e Then you can make it a truely safe and great place to visit.

i find holding a wurzels concert on the outskirts attracts the yokels. you then put nets under the trees to catch them in. works every time!

Can you see the photos? They uploaded fine but I can't see them now.
Dan, where did you get the population figure from? When I looked on the census website it gave me the figure of 137,011.

i dunno, i was guessing

andrew, theyve vanished here too. grrrrrr

Damn, I'll upload them again!

Andrew, how did you manange to take an aerial photo?
BTW, still no pictures for me. :(

Also, I can host 'em for free if you want.

Dan, where did you get the population figure from? When I looked on the census website it gave me the figure of 137,011.

I think the 137K figure is the urban area. If you count the rest of the villiages etc in the Newport Unitary Authority, I think the figure rises to what dan is saying.

ah right

There's a swathe of green between Cardiff and Newport, where I drove to visit the Millenium Stadium a couple of yrs ago. To avoid the M4 traffic I went via a place called Peterstone Wentlooge (my atlas says!). I think it's gonna take a few yrs before the 2 cities are joined.

andrew is right with the figure of 137K. this is the pop. of the unitary authority area, so that's the 'port and any smaller settlements in the UA going as far as Magor i believe before you get to monmouth UA.

the UA does not include settlements that could be regarded as part of the newport continuous built-up area, such as cwmbran. this is in torfaen UA, has its own shopping centre and effectively serves to dilute the retail spending power within newport itself. cwmbran has i understand had a house of fraser for years. if people in the gwent valleys have to travel , then its just as easy to go to cardiff, bristol or even cribbs causeway for a better range of shops.

herein lies newports problem, stuck between a rock and a hard place. its quite simply not large enough to withstand the pull exerted from larger centres from either side. but the potential is there, with waterside development opportunites, good communications etc. in fact if newport couldn't manage to do something worthwhile it would be tantamount to a criminal act. its had effectively full employment for more years than a lot of places in this part of the world could dream of, even the loss of Llanwern represents in the broader sense little more than a minor blip.

anyway, the gap between newport and cardiff will remain for the foreseeable future. much of it is designated SSSI, and the rest is green wedge/landscape protection area and thus in planning policy terms is a no go area. its low lying land and thus could be susceptible to flooding. i would not expect to see the coalescence of newport and cardiff in my lifetime.

go newport!

Hmmm, the photos are working again now and I haven't uploaded them again. Oh well, lets see how long that lasts!

Hmmm, the photos are working again now and I haven't uploaded them again. Oh well, lets see how long that lasts!
Wow, cool photos! Did you really do the aerial ones yourself? Were you in a commercial jet, or a private plane?

The aerial photos are from a flight I took last summer from Cardiff to Paris. I wish it was a private jet! lol Nah, it was an Easy Jet flight for 20 quid!

Here are some interesting photos i found.
Newport 1917:
http://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk/newportn.jpg

Bridges:
http://www.helpusellservices.com/images/helpusell-hometown.jpg

Quite a cool panorama of the river:
http://www.snap-dragon.com/photogallery/newport.jpg

One of the city's main landmarks, the civic centre:
http://users.cs.cf.ac.uk/Mike.Alder-Woolf/civic.gif http://www.gwent-consultancy.com/images/CivCent.jpg

I love the 180 degree picture of the riverside! :)
Does anyone know the height of the Civic Centre clock tower?

I don't know how tall the clock tower is unfortunately.

Just read on Newport City Council's website about a new 17 storey residential tower to be built on the west bank. The press release mentions 137 units, and also talks about a low rise element.

http://www.newport.gov.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/press_release/n_071961.pdf

A new retail heart for Newport

Facts
• A mixed use development including retail, leisure, residential, public spaces, cafes and restaurants
• A total of 388,500 sq ft of retail including a 105,000 sq ft department store
• 12,500 sq ft of restaurants
• 6,000 sq ft Health Club
• 47,000 sq ft multi-screen cinema
• 137 city centre residential apartments, made up of low rise units and a residential 17 storey tower
• Improved car parking facilities for up to a total of 1,400 cars (including UBS
provision)

Vision
• A two tiered shopping centre made up of high street retailers and independents.
The jewel in the crown will be a major department store located in a prominent position adjacent to the new car park. The shopping centre or Galleria will be curved in design and covered by a simple glass canopy at the highest level. The top floor of the Galleria will feature cafes, bars and restaurants
• Residential and leisure provision, including a health club and cinema, will ensure the city centre is more than just a shopping destination. Restaurants overlooking the river together with residential units, most of which will be located in an iconic tower, will combine to provide extended evening economy
• Kingsway Boulevard and river frontage will be landscaped, with a new public space formed, called Usk Place, at the waterfront. The riverfront will be a place where people come to eat, drink and watch the world go by and will become an important environment. Landscaping will be contemporary, featuring bubble fountains, glass paving, and modern street furniture with traffic calming measures to give pedestrians the priority.
• A landscaped Riverside Park will be located between the Riverside Arts Centre, Usk Place and the proposed university campus will provide an essential waterside promenade. The park will feature an informal amphitheatre and showcase a variety of external art pieces.
• Pedestrian links across the site are achieved via Llanarth Street and Austin Friars – both of which are extended eastwards and developed to connect with the riverfront.
Austin Friars will connect with the riverside via a new footbridge over the Kingsway Boulevard
• Major improvements to public access through the provision of state of the art bus facilities and substantial new car parking in a high quality environment.
o Access to the car park is via Kingsway and a new highway configuration
around the leisure centre using Emlyn Street.
o The Bus Station will be a totally new facility integrated fully with the Galleria.
The Bus Station will incorporate the Bus Box proposal, where buses move on
a circular route around the commercial core. From the bus station,
pedestrians have access to the city centre, Galleria or riverside area.
• Upper Dock Street is given a new important as a new north/south route between Corn Street and the remodelled John Frost Square
• John Frost Square will be remodelled. It will remain an important public space for public events and civic activities, and will feature the collapsing clock together with a new water feature
• Water forms a key part of the scheme with numerous water features spread about the city centre linking together the various areas and reinforcing the importance of the River Usk.
• High quality new architecture will be provided with new landmark buildings and gateways projecting a dynamic new image of Newport

http://city.newport.net/P5_shops.jpg

WOW!!! Now I'm impressed, very impressed. That's two very major schemes in a couple of weeks! Is there any kind of timescale for this development? Do they say what stage of planning it's at?

w00t?! Where'd all the Newport people come from? :D
That 17-storey thing looks very impressive! Reminds me of Clarence House in Leeds. Newport's very own mini shard of glass!

How about some statues of this lot

http://www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/images/GLC1.jpg

Newport certainly isnt a pretty place at the moment but I know quite a lot of people who used to live there who all miss the vibe. Be nice if it reevlpops to the extent that Cardiff has/is doing.

WOW!!! Now I'm impressed, very impressed. That's two very major schemes in a couple of weeks! Is there any kind of timescale for this development? Do they say what stage of planning it's at?
Construction for The Galleria and the associated apartment building is scheduled "towards the end of 2006", and completion should be "before the 2010 Newport Ryder Cup"! (I hope substantially before then!)

w00t?! Where'd all the Newport people come from? :D
We're all lurkers! :cheers:

That 17-storey thing looks very impressive! Reminds me of Clarence House in Leeds. Newport's very own mini shard of glass!
Yes, IMHO it'll become the best looking building in Newport, and if the development of this one is anything like the Cambrian Centre (under construction soon), it will end up being significantly taller than the current plan!

http://www.freshwater-uk.com/freshwater/marketing_communications/popup_5.html
Issued: January 11, 2005!!! Oops, didn't spot this one until just now!

Old Town Dock development area project details

Riverside South

• 3.01-hectare site to be used for 164 flats and 67 terraced houses fronting the streets and riverside park; generally 4-5 storeys high along park and 2-3 storeys on streets; last block of flats to the south will feature 12-storey corner tower to act as a landmark for the whole development and be visible from the SDR bridge and urban areas on opposite side of the Usk; a seven-storey block of flats will sit at southern end of East Dock Road.

South Basins

• 2.28-hectare site – 206 flats, 26 terraced houses fronting the streets and water basins; 4-5 storeys high along basins and 2-3 storeys the east; one block of flats to the north will be a local landmark due to its visibility from the North Basins.

North Basins

• 1.82-hectare site – 158 flats, 99 retirement flats, and 380m2 food and drink development fronting streets and water basins; 4-5 storeys high; one block of flats facing the main water body will be a landmark due to visibility from the South Basins.

Riverside North

• 1.42-hectare site - 150 flats fronting East Dock Road and riverside park; 4-5 storeys high along park.

Jack’s Pill

• 1.74-hectare site - 193 market flats, 44 student flats, 750m2 food and drink development and 2,670m2 of offices fronting the streets and water edge; 4-7 storeys with one single storey pavilion; the building directly to the north of Jack’s Pill will be a local landmark due to its visibility from the riverside park.

Old Lock

• 2.01-hectare site - 177 flats, 200m2 food and drink development and 2,000m2 leisure provision fronting onto the SDR and riverside park; 4-7 storeys; the building directly east of the Old Dock will be a local landmark due to its visibility at the southern end of Usk Way and from the riverside from as far as the Transporter Bridge.

Hotel site

• 0.48-hectare site – 80-bed, three star hotel with 94 parking spaces providing a main frontage along Usk Way; 3-4 storeys and a landmark due to its visibility from the SDR.
Mixed use area
• 1.73-hectare site – 51 flats, 138 key workers’ flats, 11 terraced houses, 1,260m2 food and drink development and 2,500m2 doctors’ surgery fronting the streets and water basins; 4-5 storeys to the south and 2-5 storeys to the north.

This is getting quite interesting! It seems that it's now Newport's turn to be in the spotlight. At the moment there's absolutely no chat in the Cardiff thread. Newport's getting it all!
So, what've we got coming up in Newport...

One 27 story tower, one 17 story tower, one 12 story tower and four further mentions of 'landmarks'. This is gonna be awesome!

Newport's gonna have a designer skyline methinks! All the highrises seem to be quite strategically placed.

I've added the 17 story tower to the first post BTW

I just saw a really good render of the Newport shopping centre in 'Planning' magazine. Unfortunately it was small and wasn from the wrong angle to see the tower but the quality of the render was brilliant and what they showed of the design looked awesome. The story in 'Planning' was about them choosing a developer. I'll go and take another look at the magazine and get the developer's name. If we could get hold of some of the renders of the tower it would be a brilliant story for skyscrapernews.com, man that'd be Newport appearing in the news section twice in as many months! Go Newport!

Here we go:
Modus wins £200m city revamp Apr 30 2005




Sion Barry, Western Mail


A £200m scheme to transform the centre of Newport into a major shopping destination took a significant step forward yesterday with the unveiling of the developer to drive the project.

Newport City Council has appointed Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd as its preferred developer for the ambitious scheme, which is expected to create hundreds of jobs and transform the city's retail sector.

The project will provide 390,000sq feet of new and refurbished retail space, with a new department store as the anchor tenant.

It will also provide parking for 1,400 vehicles, pedestrian priority areas, new cafes, restaurants and bars and 137 residential units.

Work on the four-hectare site is expected to start towards the end of next year and be completed in time for golf's 2010 Ryder Cup which will be staged at Celtic Manor Resort just outside the city.

Bob Bright, leader of Newport City Council said, "This announcement is great news for Newport and will help to establish the city as a major retail centre.

"The city council together with its partners has worked hard to attract such a prestigious scheme to Newport.

"The benefits of this scheme will be felt by everyone in Newport including existing traders and new businesses who will be attracted to this exciting development.

"The people of Newport will benefit from having a first-class city centre for the 21st century.

"We will be providing better shopping facilities, extra car parking and will link the riverfront with the city's commercial centre.

"Newport city council looks forward to working with Modus Corovest (Newport) to provide high-quality retail opportunities and a vibrant city centre environment for people to live, work, and enjoy their leisure time."

The new retail scheme covers an area comprising of Kingsway, Upper Dock Street, John Frost Square and the Bus Station.

A key feature of the development will be to bring together Newport's riverfront and commercial centre, allowing people to walk easily between the two areas.

Historically, Newport has under-performed in the retail stakes for a city of its size.

The local authority is confident that the new scheme will turn the city's retail fortunes around.

The redevelopment of Newport's retail centre forms an integral part of regeneration company Newport Unlimited's city centre master plan - the blueprint outlining the city's regeneration.

The city council has been advised throughout the process by Charles Miller of King Sturge.

After an extensive tendering process, Modus Corovest (Newport) was chosen from a shortlist of five other major developers.

These included Amec, Multiplex Developments UK, St Modwen and Wilson Bowden.

Brendan Flood, managing director of Modus, said, "We are delighted to be working with Newport Unlimited and the City Council to provide a mixed use development commensurate with the city's status.

"The real work now begins and we are thoroughly looking forward to the challenge."


http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0300business/0100news/tm_objectid=15462170&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=modus-wins--200m-city-revamp-name_page.html


Press Release
April 29, 2005
Newport’s £200m retail scheme is unveiled
Plans to transform the retail centre of Newport into a major shopping destination over the next five years have been unveiled by the City Council.


Newport Council has chosen Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd as the preferred developers behind the £200 million facelift which will create hundreds of jobs in the city, and attract high profile retailers.

The development scheme will provide 390,000 sq feet of new and refurbished retail space, a major new department store, improved car parking facilities for 1400 cars, pedestrian priority areas, enhanced public spaces, new cafes, restaurants and bars together with 137 residential units.

Work on the four-hectare site is expected to start towards the end of 2006 and be completed in time for the thousands of visitors expected to the city for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport City Council said:

“This announcement is great news for Newport and will help to establish the city as a major retail centre.

“The City Council together with its partners has worked hard to attract such a prestigious scheme to Newport.

“The benefits of this scheme will be felt by everyone in Newport including existing traders and new businesses who will be attracted to this exciting development.

“The people of Newport will benefit from having a first class city centre for the 21st century. We will be providing better shopping facilities, extra car parking and will link the riverfront with the city’s commercial centre.

“Newport city council looks forward to working with Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd to provide high quality retail opportunities and a vibrant city centre environment for people to live, work, and enjoy their leisure time.”


The new retail scheme covers an area comprising of Kingsway, Upper Dock Street, John Frost Square and the Bus Station. A key feature of the development will be to bring together Newport’s riverfront and commercial centre, allowing people to walk easily between the two areas.

Historically, Newport has under performed in the retail stakes for a city of its size. The new scheme will turn the city’s retail fortunes around.

The redevelopment of Newport’s retail centre forms an integral part of Newport Unlimited’s City Centre Master Plan – the blueprint outlining the city’s regeneration.

The City Council has been advised throughout the process by Charles Miller of King Sturge.


After an extensive tendering process, Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd was chosen from a shortlist of five major developers. These included AMEC, Multiplex Developments UK, St Modwen and Wilson Bowden. Proposals were assessed on the quality of their design together with their deliverability and financial offer to the City Council.

Brendan Flood, chief executive of Modus, said: “We are delighted to be working with Newport Unlimited and the City Council to provide a mixed use development commensurate with the City’s status. The real work now begins and we are thoroughly looking forward to the challenge.”


Ends
A new retail heart for Newport

The proposals by Modus Corovest are summarised below:

Please note these are proposals at this stage only and may be modified as the scheme develops.

Facts

• A mixed use development including retail, leisure, residential, public spaces, cafes and restaurants

• A total of 388,500 sq ft of retail including a 105,000 sq ft department store

• 12,500 sq ft of restaurants

• 6,000 sq ft Health Club

• 47,000 sq ft multi-screen cinema

• 137 city centre residential apartments, made up of low rise units and a residential 17 storey tower

• Improved car parking facilities for up to a total of 1,400 cars (including UBS provision)

Vision

• A two tiered shopping centre made up of high street retailers and independents. The jewel in the crown will be a major department store located in a prominent position adjacent to the new car park. The shopping centre or Galleria will be curved in design and covered by a simple glass canopy at the highest level. The top floor of the Galleria will feature cafes, bars and restaurants

• Residential and leisure provision, including a health club and cinema, will ensure the city centre is more than just a shopping destination. Restaurants overlooking the river together with residential units, most of which will be located in an iconic tower, will combine to provide extended evening economy

• Kingsway Boulevard and river frontage will be landscaped, with a new public space formed, called Usk Place, at the waterfront. The riverfront will be a place where people come to eat, drink and watch the world go by and will become an important environment. Landscaping will be contemporary, featuring bubble fountains, glass paving, and modern street furniture with traffic calming measures to give pedestrians the priority.

• A landscaped Riverside Park will be located between the Riverside Arts Centre, Usk Place and the proposed university campus will provide an essential waterside promenade. The park will feature an informal amphitheatre and showcase a variety of external art pieces.

• Pedestrian links across the site are achieved via Llanarth Street and Austin Friars – both of which are extended eastwards and developed to connect with the riverfront. Austin Friars will connect with the riverside via a new footbridge over the Kingsway Boulevard

• Major improvements to public access through the provision of state of the art bus facilities and substantial new car parking in a high quality environment.

o Access to the car park is via Kingsway and a new highway configuration around the leisure centre using Emlyn Street.

o The Bus Station will be a totally new facility integrated fully with the Galleria. The Bus Station will incorporate the Bus Box proposal, where buses move on a circular route around the commercial core. From the bus station, pedestrians have access to the city centre, Galleria or riverside area.

• Upper Dock Street is given a new important as a new north/south route between Corn Street and the remodelled John Frost Square

• John Frost Square will be remodelled. It will remain an important public space for public events and civic activities, and will feature the collapsing clock together with a new water feature

• Water forms a key part of the scheme with numerous water features spread about the city centre linking together the various areas and reinforcing the importance of the River Usk.

• High quality new architecture will be provided with new landmark buildings and gateways projecting a dynamic new image of Newport

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.pressrelease&contentid=N_071961


Newport’s new £200m retail scheme is unveiled
Contact: Charles Miller


Plans to transform the retail centre of Newport into a major shopping destination have been unveiled by the city council. Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd has been selected as the preferred developer to deliver the £200 million mixed-use scheme for the city centre creating hundreds of jobs in the city and attract high profile retailers.

The development scheme will provide 390,000 ft² of new and refurbished retail space, a major new department store, improved car parking facilities for 1400 cars, pedestrian priority areas, enhanced public spaces, new cafes, restaurants and bars together with 137 residential units.

Work on the four-hectare site is expected to start towards the end of 2006 and be completed in time for the thousands of visitors expected for golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup.
The new retail scheme covers Kingsway, Upper Dock Street, John Frost Square and the Bus Station bringing together Newport's riverfront and commercial centre, allowing people to walk easily between the two areas.
Historically, for a city of its size, Newport has under performed in the retail stakes and this redevelopment will form an integral part of Newport Unlimited’s City Centre Master Plan – the blueprint outlining the city’s regeneration.

Charles Miller advised the City Council throughout the process.


http://www.kingsturge.co.uk/commercial/news/newports-new-200m-retail-scheme-is-unveiled.htm


Pics:
http://www.kingsturge.com/resources/news/images/RetailNewportScheme1.jpg http://city.newport.net/P5_shops.jpg

Thanks for that research Andrew!

I'm liking that residential building more and more!

Interestingly, that model also shows how tall the anchoring of the new pedestrian bridge will be. Not sure, but it looks to be several hundred feet.

Look better than the new development for Cardiff.
looks like a good time to invest in some Newport property.
:cucumber: :cucumber: :cucumber:

Yes, it is a lot better looking than the St David's 2 plans - some real quality architecture here.This design impresses me, the Cardiff plans do not.

I hope this does actually happen. Newport council have had numerous plans for the redevelopment of the shopping centre over the past decade and none of them have actually materialised due to the fact that none of the major high street names would back it by signing up to significant space. I'm a victim of their dithering. My ex-father-in-law owns Mr Bens bistro in the centre (or did when I last saw him), and he'd been waiting for this to go through so he could sell up and expand his business. I was going to help him do it. Also the IRA bomb in Manchester didn't help as P & O used to own the shopping centre, and they also owned the Arndale centre.

It would be nice to see Cardiff's ugly sibling get a makeover, it certainly needs it.

This one should happen, it's light years ahead of any of the plans that have gone before it, and being done by a URC rather than just the council, they should have a lot more clout. They should also have a decent budget behind them.

Not to mention the fact that the developers are well-known in the field of actually developing real shopping centres, not just property speculators! :)

The usual naysayers will come out nay-saying though - this isn't helped by the fact that it's not due to start until late 2006 :(

Hello People.
I'll be staying in Newport this Sunday and Monday nights.
Can you recommend any good places to go.

Hello People.
I'll be staying in Newport this Sunday and Monday nights.
Can you recommend any good places to go.
Good places to go in order to do what? :runaway:

Cardiff maybe, it's only 10 minutes away on the train! Seeing all of Newport itself should take you maybe all of about 30 minutes!

Good places to go in order to do what? :runaway:

I'll be staying there as cardiff overflow, watching the football on Monday.
I suppose what I'm wondering is good places to drink as I won't have time to look around.


I think I'm staying in a pub called 'The Wheatsheaf' if that means anything.

Apparently theres a statue of an ancestor of mine somewhere in town, don't know if thats true though.

Cheers

I have no idea sorry mate, I don't know newport very well and haven't been to any of the pubs. I hope you enjoy the football though.

I think I'm staying in a pub called 'The Wheatsheaf' if that means anything.

That is about as far away from the city centre as you can get! I think it's even out beyond Caerleon. If it's true you'd need a number 2 bus or taxi to get into town and then just start looking around! Get to the statues in Westgate Square and that's about as central as you can get...

Here's an interesting article and some pics I found about Newport's new arts centre:
http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc//images/portfolio_previews/p0000000983.jpg

The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre in Newport

The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre in Newport, on the west bank of the River Usk, was conceived to help ‘kick-start’ the regeneration of the city centre and the riverfront area. It was also proposed to build upon the city’s cultural and artistic provision. This is a major new cultural facility for Wales’ newest city. The design process began in March 1998, the project then commenced on site in April 2002 and was completed in October 2004. The project was funded by Newport City Council and the Arts Council of Wales.

The brief called for a ‘landmark’ building to provide a catalyst for further development along the riverside, comprising two theatre spaces, the Theatre (seating 493 with proscenium arch and fly tower) and the Studio (seating 150 in a flexible form), a Dance Studio, Recording Studio, Exhibition Gallery, Function Room, three Workshop Spaces, Crèche, Shop, Café, Bar and all the necessary technical, administrative and theatrical ancillary spaces.

The remains of a fifteenth century ship were discovered whilst excavating for the orchestra pit for the Theatre. Around 25 metres long and dating from 1465 the find’s importance was equated to that of the Mary Rose. During its six month excavation, a vast new exhibition space was designed and built in self-compacting water-proof concrete beneath the foyer, to house and display the discoveries, presenting the ship’s unearthing, its history and eventually the fully conserved ship itself. The design could not compromise the existing facilities, however needed to be an integral part of the building as a whole, and had to be constructed around the piles already in the ground.

The final contract value, incorporating the ‘new’ exhibition basement and display, however excluding the cost for six months delay resulting from the ship’s discovery, was approximately £13.5 million.

The site is very prominent, allowing panoramic and long distance views to and from the centre of Newport and offering the first ‘framed’ view from trains arriving in South Wales. It is therefore very significant in presenting a first impression of Newport and South Wales. The orientation on site addresses these views and takes into consideration both riverside and city centre access.

The brief required three performance spaces, which were all to share front and back of house facilities. To make best use of a long, thin site, the three performance spaces are treated as independent entities with the foyer and ancillary spaces wrapping around them, reducing the scale of the building as a whole and creating three smaller, acoustically independent, buildings within the one venue.

The plan and three dimensional form of the main volumes (Theatre, Studio and Dance Studio) and their ancillary and foyer spaces form a solid-void-solid rhythm which helps reduce the scale of the building and relates it to the neighbouring urban grain and scale. The building acts as a point of connection and reference between the river and the city centre, with the foyer itself providing a pedestrian route between the two. It also makes the building ‘legible’ with the main facilities expressed as smaller buildings in themselves.

Linking the three forms together at the city side and riverside entrances is a fully transparent, double height foyer which unifies the individual elements within and provides a beacon to draw people in.

The three main forms are clad in vitreous enamel steel, externally and internally, coloured in a muted blue which appears blue against a white sky and white against a blue sky, helping to break down the apparent mass. Lighting is placed around the building’s perimeter to project at night vibrant ever-changing colour onto the elevations.

The ancillary facilities comprise a brickwork two storey structure which wraps around its principal forms. The brickwork, a Staffordshire blue elongated brick, with a unique bond which accentuates the horizontal, works its way around the base of the building’s perimeter, growing out of the riverside and drawing all the elements of the building together.

The foyer leads the user to explore any one or more of the facilities, whilst still making visitors aware of the cityscape. The foyer is open, bright and fresh, containing artwork and a buzz of activity which is achieved through the design of the interior spaces linking all the attractions. The Dance Studio is bright and airy and offers views up and down the river from above it. Once inside the Theatre and Studio however, the freshness of the foyer gives way to a warmth which indulges all the senses – the colour of aubergine, the sight of rich chocolate coloured wood and the touch and smell of leather.

When conceived by the City Council, the idea of a Theatre and Arts Centre in Newport was deemed irrelevant. In a city with no notable modern architecture, the early design concepts received some public criticism. Since the hoardings came down and the building was opened, opinion reversed and the Riverfront has won the publics’ hearts, the press’ approval and recently Newport City Council’s ‘Built-in’ Quality Award. It is also now one of the projects featured in an exhibition to tour Wales, entitled ‘Building Wales’ and featuring Wales’ most prominent examples of modern architecture from the last eighty years.

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/aantrc1s.jpg http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/aantrc2s.jpg

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/aantrc1l.jpg

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/data/aantrc2l.jpg

http://www.austinsmithlord.com/nfeatureproject.asp

I also found another little drawing of the city centre redevelopment on the council's website, nothing particularly special:
http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc//images/portfolio_previews/p0000000325.jpg

Interesting pics there of The Riverfront. I like the way it changes colours over time -- makes a nice reflection on the river.

Thought it was a reallygood town city blighted by some terrible 60's planning and which also has the very worst multi-story carpark in the world.

People very nice and the girls speak lovely.

has the very worst multi-story carpark in the world.
Well, don't worry about that -- all the multi-storeys are coming down in various redevelopments. The new 21st century versions should be miles better. Interestingly, the newest of the lot -- the Cambrian Centre MCP -- is going to be the first to go, as part of the new 27 storey resi development on that site.

It'll be great to get rid of those old multi story car parks, they really are a blight on the city. I was driving home past Newport on the M4 the other day and I was thinking how much potential the city has to be a very impressive gateway to Wales. Think about it, the first impression of Newport that you get is the Celtic Manor Resort, followed by a clear view of the city centre from the motorway. Imagine that view with two extra towers of 17 and 27 stories!

Another recent development in Newport which we haven't mentioned is the southern distributor road.

There's a route map on the website:
http://www.newportsdr.co.uk/

Some pics

The new bridge over the Usk:
http://www.ccw.gov.uk/Images_Client/PressReleases/Newport%20SDR%20Bridge.jpeg2.jpg http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc//images/portfolio_previews/p0000000442.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/yoursay/topics/images/newport_sdr_johnyoung200.jpg

The new pedestrian cycle bridge across the Usk was recently approved by the assembly. Can't remember how tall the tower part is (I'm sure Jim will know!) but if I remember correctly there was also plans for a tall building next to where the bridge lands on the west bank. I'll see if I can dig up a picture!

The new pedestrian cycle bridge across the Usk was recently approved by the assembly. Can't remember how tall the tower part is (I'm sure Jim will know!) but if I remember correctly there was also plans for a tall building next to where the bridge lands on the west bank. I'll see if I can dig up a picture!
Yes -- the tower holding up the bridge (on the West bank) is going to be about 230ft tall, which is taller than the next bridge downstream. The masts of George St. Bridge are about 170ft each.

All in all, the new pedestrian bridge should be a nice landmark! :eek2:

That'll be awesome, I love bridges, especially when they make an impact on the skyline like that! I'd love to see that picture if you can find it!

5 July 2005

Building a bridge to a new Newport
Work will start this week on the construction of Newport’s new £4.9 million foot and cycle bridge – a key part of the city’s regeneration plans.

Contractors Alfred McAlpine are moving in to make the site ready for the erection of the 67 metre tall structure, which is due to be completed by May 2006.

The 145 metre-long bridge will play a critical part in the city’s accessibility strategy, linking the east and west banks of the river Usk and allowing people to travel quickly and safely between the two. In particular, the communities of both Maindee and the Victoria ward will benefit from much better access to the city centre.

The new Usk Bridge is a joint project led by Newport City Council, the Welsh Development Agency and urban regeneration company Newport Unlimited. The contract to Alfred McAlpine was awarded through the WDA.

Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport City Council, said: “The new bridge will significantly improve access to the city centre from the east of Newport, reducing journey times by eight minutes for pedestrians and by two minutes for cyclists. It will be well-lit and will mean that people no longer have to walk through dark subways at night.

“As well as leading people directly into Newport’s shopping centre, it will encourage people to leave their cars at home and help create a city that is free of congestion and pollution.”

Graham Moore, chief executive of Newport Unlimited, said: “The new foot and cycle bridge will stand tall as a potent symbol of the city’s regeneration.

“Making Newport accessible and creating a buzz in the city centre is a key part of the regeneration programme. The new bridge will enable an additional 3,000 people from east Newport to walk into the centre within just 20 minutes.

“Importantly, it will help Newport embrace its waterfront and create a sense of Newport on Usk – as opposed to a city divided by its river.”

Derek Bird, operations director from Alfred McAlpine, said: “Alfred McAlpine is very pleased to be involved with this landmark scheme. The structure will form an impressive focal point for the regeneration of the area.”

The bridge design team was led by Atkins special structures group in Oxford, with acclaimed architects Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners providing the concept and design services. The bridge design was selected in consultation with the local community by a competition run through the local daily newspaper, the South Wales Argus.

It features four crane-like masts, standing in pairs, which support the bridge from the west bank. The masts are positioned and anchored at ground level by two 120mm diameter cables. The forward mast is 80 metres long and the back mast is 70 metres long, but because of the angles at which the masts are positioned, the back mast is the tallest part of the structure above ground level. The deck is five metres wide and 4.1 metres above water at mean tide.

Ewan Jones, associate director at Grimshaw, said: “The dramatic crane structure provides a symbolic link to the site’s earlier use as trading wharves but with a very modern twist. It is a highly visible landmark on Newport’s skyline, clearly locating the river from wherever you are in the city, and is another striking addition to the city’s collection of bridges.

“The deliberate location of the main structures on the west bank means that the vast majority of construction work will be kept away from the houses on the east bank, while avoiding impact on the local river ecology.”

Graham Moore added: “In the design and selection of the footbridge, we have been working with the Design Commission for Wales. The regeneration of Newport is all about quality. This bridge will set a precedent for future construction and we wanted to get it right from the start. The advice and feedback provided by the Commission has proved invaluable in helping us to shape this major new icon for the city.”

Local Newport company, Rowecord Engineering Ltd, is being sub-contracted by Alfred McAlpine to build the structure, which will be made from 850 tonnes of Corus steel.

Fabrication of the bridge begins at Rowecord in August and will be completed by December. From January 2006, the bridge will be assembled on site, starting with the construction of the anchoring points, before erecting the masts in three parts and assembling the deck in five parts.

Notes to Editor

Newport Unlimited

• Newport Unlimited is Wales’s first and only urban regeneration company. It was founded by the Welsh Assembly Government, Welsh Development Agency and Newport City Council in 2003 following the steel industry cutbacks.

• It has drawn up three area Master Plans detailing its blue-print for regeneration. The new Usk Footbridge forms part of the Central Area Master Plan that will also see a cultural left bank district playing home to the arts and education; a strengthened commercial core with improved retail, business and living opportunities; improved transport systems including new roads and the renovation of the railway station; new housing developments and the creation of riverside walkways and green public spaces.

• Newport Unlimited will be rolling out more than 60 projects in 15 priority areas in the next five years alone, that will attract more than £600 million in private sector investment and create 4,000 new jobs.

www.newportunlimited.co.uk

Alfred McAlpine

Alfred McAlpine is now a service-orientated business focused on the built environment. It employs over 9,000 people and operates through three principal business streams:

- Business Services – which focuses on facilities and asset management, information systems, and workplace advisory services.

- Infrastructure Services – which focuses on utilities and highways maintenance and renewal.

- Capital Projects – which focuses on construction and civil engineering services.

Two-thirds of the company’s sales are in support services (2004 total sales £931 million)

www.alfredmcalpineplc.com

Atkins

Atkins is a leading provider of professional services. It is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy in Europe and the seventh largest design firm in the world. Atkins’ operations are based in some 130 offices in the UK and a further 70 offices, providing consultancy services in continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Americas. Today, the firm generates in excess of £1,200m and employs around 14,000 permanent staff.

In simple terms, its services can be summarised as:

- architecture - operations and maintenance

- engineering - facilities and management

- project management - property services

- construction management - planning and environment

- cost consultancy - management consultancy

- financial and policy advice - science and technology

www.atkinsglobal.com

Grimshaw

• Grimshaw was founded in London in 1980. The practice now operates worldwide, with offices in London, New York and Melbourne employing more than 100 staff. The practice’s international portfolio is characterized by structural legibility, innovation and a rigorous approach to detailing. The buildings are designed to have spatial and organizational clarity, to reflect the activities within them, yet to be flexible enough to respond to changing needs. This level of design excellence has won the practice over 100 awards.

• Grimshaw uses the latest CAD technology to design and disseminate information. It has highly developed business management procedures and has achieved certification to the Quality System Standard BS EN ISO 9001. In 2001, it became the first major architectural firm to meet the Environmental Management System Standard BS EN ISO 14001 and has since developed its own audit system, EVA, or Environmentally Viable Architecture.

www.grimshaw-architects.com

Rowecord

Rowecord Engineering has been in Newport since 1967 and now has more than 400 people working at its plants, with a turnover of around £40m. The Usk Bridge will be one of many Rowecord-built bridges in South Wales, including the Swansea Port Tawe Bridge or ‘Sail Bridge’, Swansea North Bridge and the Cwm Bridge in Blaenau Gwent. The company has grown considerably to become one of the top three structural steelwork contractors in the UK.

www.rowecord.com

Design Commission for Wales

The Design Commission for Wales is a national organisation established and core funded by the National Assembly for Wales. Its mission is to champion high standards of architecture, landscape and urban design in Wales and promote wider understanding of the importance of good quality in the built environment.

www.dcfw.org

Darn, I was off by 10 feet! Still, 220 ft is still pretty decent! :cucumber:

Here's a picture of the proposed bridge:

http://city.newport.net/Bridge/001.jpg

Thnat's a very cool picture, I love the design! If you don't mind I'm gonna put the pic on the front page.

Dbl post...

Thnat's a very cool picture, I love the design! If you don't mind I'm gonna put the pic on the front page.
Go for it!

I think the design is meant to echo the shipping cranes that once populated this area. It'll actually not be the tallest bridge in NP however, as it is eclipsed by the magnificent Transporter Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Transporter_Bridge) which stands at 242ft compared to 220ft for the youngster.

I noticed some new renders and drawings on the website you got the pic of the bridge from. I'm getting really quite excited by the plans for Newport.

The new Galleria shopping centre (including a couple we've allready seen):
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/001.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Galleria/002.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Galleria/003.jpg http://city.newport.net/Galleria/005.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Galleria/004.jpg



New Cambrian Centre renders (and the one we've seen but bigger):
http://city.newport.net/Cambrian/003.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Cambrian/001.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Cambrian/002.png


And the pic of the bridge which we've allready seen but what the heck, lets have another look:
http://city.newport.net/Bridge/001.jpg

andrew, whats the score on the galleria? can you send me the detials about it so i can find out more and write something. we need more wales news!

whats the score on the galleria? can you send me the detials about it so i can find out more and write something. we need more wales news!
Here's what I do know about the Galleria resi building:


17 residential floors (the height has not been revealed at this point, but the residential floors start above three commercial floors).
On-site date early 2006.
Completion in 2009
Developer: Modus Corovest (Newport).

hey impressive stuff newport! All these new scemes look great. When Ryder Cup comes along, there will be a great little ity to show off to the world.

What about Newport University. I heard a wile back they were building a brand new campus or something?

hey impressive stuff newport! All these new scemes look great. When Ryder Cup comes along, there will be a great little ity to show off to the world.

What about Newport University. I heard a wile back they were building a brand new campus or something?
That's true -- as part of the regeneration there's going to be a new campus on the west bank. Not sure if there'll be any talls in the mix, but here's hoping! :cheers:

Here's something which might be of interest to those close enough to go and take a look:
Press Release

Newport’s Changing Spaces - Urban Design Week 2005

With all the talk about the exciting future proposed for Newport’s city centre it can be easy to overlook the huge changes that have already taken place over recent years.

Urban Design Week is being celebrated nationally between September 12-18, and in Newport a special exhibition is taking place at the central library to highlight the city’s changing spaces.

There has in fact been an extraordinary amount of change in the “public realm” of the city over the last 20 years: the spaces which we all use every day. Areas such as Commercial Street and the Market Square have been transformed over the past twenty years.

There is an even bigger amount of change on the horizon, with a number of new schemes proposed.

The Projects and Design section of the Council has prepared an exhibition which will be in the Central Library in John Frost Square from the 12 - 18 September.

The exhibition is divided into three areas: History – the changing spaces of Newport; Future – the new city centre that will develop over the next 10 years; and Community – the regeneration initiative which illustrates community projects that have taken place over the past five years.

It provides some “before and after” shots of spaces that have changed, some drawings of the new developments that are in the pipeline, and illustrations of some of the spaces that the local community have helped change.

Councillor Erryl Heath, the Cabinet Member for Development and Employment, said:


“Newport is a city that we can be proud of. The problem, perhaps, is that we are all used to it, and don’t actually look at it very often.


”This exhibition highlights the huge changes that have taken place in recent years and looks forward to the exciting future which everyone in Newport can look forward to.”

Urban design is the process of shaping the physical environment for life in cities, towns and villages.

It is the art of making places and involves the design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes, and establishing the processes that make successful development possible.

Urban design appeals to people who are interested in more than just the design of a single building or the interests of a single user. It is the challenge of creating a place that will be used and enjoyed by a wide range of different people for different purposes, not only now but in years to come.

Ends

Alas, being in Singapore surounded by skyscrapers I don't think I'll be able to attend this event in good old Newport...

Newport’s Changing Spaces - Urban Design Week 2005
Future – the new city centre that will develop over the next 10 years;
Sounds interesting -- is anyone around here going?

Sounds interesting -- is anyone around here going?
I'll probably pop down on the Saturday and see if I can grab any flyers.

I'll probably pop down on the Saturday and see if I can grab any flyers.
Unfortunately, nothing we haven't seen already due to Jim's ability to discover these plans before they're published! :)

I see.... :grouphug:

So, any new things happening. I wanna hear what's goin on!

The whole point of the bridge and the shopping centre development was to visually connect both sides of the river through a view down the long street to the bridge and over. Its shown in the vision of Newport unlimited http://img54.exs.cx/img54/5697/johnfrostsquare4hd.jpg It looks like the new shopping centre blocks this view? and also directs people coming over the bridge directly into the cebntre rather than onwards into the city which should be the plan!? I dont think its right yet.

I dont ;like the look of the shopping centre either. very cheap Las Vegas. also it doesnt seem to have any open streets running through it. Its going to just be a huge 12 hours a day shopping centre and a big impermeable wall the rest of the time.

Hmmm, that's a good point. I hadn't noticed that, I wonder if that's the influence of Debenhams wanting people using the bridge to be herded directly towards their shop and into the centre than onto the city centre streets. I absolutely love the designs of the shopping centre, it looks so modern! I do share your concerns though, this development is meant to be about reviving the old city centre not taking business away from it which is possible when pedestrians are guided into the shopping centre rather than onto the streets. We'll have to wait and see how these plans develop.

Maybe 'absolutely love' was slightly strong a term but I do like the designs as well, it's very modern and that's unususal for Newport. I tell you one part I do love though and that's the tower part of the centre, I love it's design, I love it's shape.

I agree that the permeability of the Galleria is a slight concern as all of the Newport Unlimited renderings have shown very linear blocks with good through-routes towards the river

Having said that, I'm guessing the bridge that crosses the road and enters the tower area will be a public right of way, and probably exits through the back of the development.

Regarding the tower itself, I agree that the design is outstanding! Shame development doesn't even start 'till the end of 06...

I don't think the new centre blocks the view from the new river bridge though -- I think it's further upstream than that.

No word yet on that "Landmark building" at the end of the bridge though.

Newport International Sports Village (NISV)
Newport International Sports Village (NISV) is located on the outskirts of the City Centre just off the A455 Southern Distributor Road. The Village has been developed over a number of years and includes the Wales National Velodrome, Newport Tennis and South East Regional Swimming Pool, Squash Courts & ATP and the Newport Stadium.

South East Regional Swimming Pool
Count the days until Splash Down here!!

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/images/portfolio_previews/p0000001116.jpg

Newport International Sports Village is proud to announce the forthcoming addition of the South East Wales Regional Swimming Pool. The new 8 lane competition pool is currently under construction and the opening ceremony will be on Friday 6th January 2006. There will also be an open weekend on Saturday 7th January and Sunday 8th January 2006.

This new facility will include a 25 metre, 8-lane competition pool with movable floor, fitness suite, teaching pool and over 500 seats for spectators. For ease of access the new pool will fully comply with Disability Discrimination Act regulations. The car park has been expanded and will have more than 180 spaces.

A children’s play area and multi use games area will be built next to the swimming pool, which adjoins the current Tennis Centre. New outdoor tennis courts are also included in the development.

Parents will be able to enjoy a drink or snack in the extended entrance foyer while children are having tennis and swimming lessons.

Watch this page for further updates!

Wales National Velodrome

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/images/portfolio_previews/p0000001376.jpg

The Velodrome was officially opened on 14th November 2003 and forms part of the Newport International Sports Village.

The 250 metre Siberian pine track has been designed and constructed by Ron Webb, a former Australian cycling champion, who has been building and installing cycle tracks since 1970 and who designed and built the Velodrome track for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Facilities
Function Room / Dance Studio
Free Weights Room
Latest Solutions fitness suite
A Drug Testing Room
A Multipurpose indoor sports arena
Seating Seating for 500 spectators
Hosts the Head Office of the Welsh Cycling Union
View our New Winter Workout Timetable Oct-Dec 2005
The Velodrome has an excellent choice of exercise classes suitable for all levels. Whether you are looking for a gentle form of exercise, or improving your aerobic fitness and toning, or to simply shed a few pounds in time for that Christmas party, you are sure to find a class to suit you. Take a look at our new winter workout timetable, come along, make new friends and above all have fun!

The Summer 2005 programme shows the current timetable of activities at the Velodrome. You can make a provisional booking by printing and completing a booking form. Use the Cycle Track booking form to book time on the track or the Sport & Activities form for the inner sports arena or other facilities.

Newport Velo Youth Cycling club is based at the velodrome and is open to youngsters aged 8 – 16 years who are interested in cycling.

The size of the Velodrome gives an opportunity for sports other than cycling to enjoy the facilities. The central arena has a 12 court zone for badminton and 2 courts for football, basketball and netball which local clubs are able to book.

Although primarily for training purposes, the Velodrome hosts national events attracting competitors from across the UK and Europe offering exciting spectator events for people in Newport and surrounding areas.

The cycle speedway track has been relocated opposite the Velodrome and is now open.

Newport Tennis Centre
Newport International Sports Village includes the Newport Tennis Centre which has four permanent indoor tennis courts, resurfaced in November 2004. New outdoor tennis courts are due to open later in 2005. The multi-purpose hall accommodates indoor cricket nets, table tennis, netball and short tennis.

There is a large entrance foyer where parents can sit and enjoy a cup of tea and coffee while children are having a tennis lesson. This is a great place to have an informal meeting. The Centre also has a meeting room which can accommodate up to 20 around a board room style meeting and 25 –30 sat cinema style.

Squash Courts & AstroTurf Pitch (ATP)
The Squash courts and ATP form part of the Spytty Park Sports Complex. There are three squash courts, three outdoor changing rooms and an Astro-turf pitch (ATP).

The ATP can accommodate a full size football pitch but is usually split into two for football and hockey training.

Newport Stadium at NISV

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/images/portfolio_previews/p0000001063.jpg

Newport Stadium is able to accommodate 4,300 spectators. The Stadium can accommodate international standard track and field athletic events and meets Conference Football League standard. It has a number of changing rooms and a meeting room area. Newport Stadium is the home of Newport County AFC, Llanwern AFC, and Newport Harriers AC.

Solutions Health & Fitness
Solutions Health & Fitness is the brand name of the fitness suites and activities operated by Newport City Council.

Solutions Fitness Suites are located in the Newport Centre, Newport International Sports Village, Maindee Swimming Pools and Underwood Leisure Centre.

Why not pay a visit to see for yourself the facilities available?

I didn't know Newport had these facilities. Of course they're not exactly olympic standard but I'm actually quite impressed, ok this level of facilities would be expected in larger cities but I think it's pretty good for a city the size of Newport (although calling it an "International Sports Village" just sounds pretentious and silly to me).

University of Wales, Newport: New Caerleon Campus building:
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/images/education/caerleon1.gif
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/Caerloen.html
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/Caerloen.pdf

News from Newport City Council
New 30,000 sq ft Office Building Under Construction at the George Street Site
A new three-storey 30,000 sq ft office building is under construction at the George Street site in Newport by Mission Estates.

The recently named Usk House building is the first office development on the 4.6 acre George Street site, which has been allocated as a major new business district for the city on the southern edge of the centre. It is due for completion by July 2006.

The offices are aimed to attract a high-profile single occupier, although there is potential for the building to be sub-divided on a floor-by-floor basis.

Gary Carver, associate director of the Office Agency Department at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, said, “Usk House will be a very high-quality building with raised floors and air conditioning. It will have 30 dedicated car parking spaces although it is only a short walk from the bus and railway stations. We anticipate strong interest from both local and national occupiers. Once completed it will be a stunning addition to the developments planned for the George Street site.”

Cabinet member for development and employment at Newport City Council, Councillor Erryl Heath, added, “Thanks to this new development, Newport will be able to offer modern, high-specification office accommodation not previously available in the city (centre). I am confident that this project will encourage new businesses into our already growing city and enhance Newport’s reputation as a rapidly growing centre of business.”

Other major proposals for the George Street site include a new Magistrates Court, a regional Red Cross building and a prestigious 50,000 sq ft office development backed by the WDA.

authored by: Research Officerlast update: Wed, 30 Nov 2005
Flagship Riverfront Development
Newport’s riverfront is to be dramatically redeveloped as part of Newport’s regeneration programme. Several hundred apartments are to be built overlooking the River Usk opposite The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre. A riverfront walkway and a new footbridge linking the development to the city centre are also part of the plans to transform this part of the city over the next two years. Councillor Ken Critchley, cabinet member for development and employment, talking about this joint venture between the Welsh Development Agency and Newport City Council said “The completion of The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre has marked the start of magnificent changes to this area of the city and this new development will not only improve the riverbank and provide quality homes but will also improve the links across the river that runs through the heart of Newport.”

authored by: Marketing Officerlast update: Mon, 24 Oct 2005

Any news on the Cambrian Centre tower and the new footbridge, they should have both started by now, especially the bridge. Anyone got any pics?

Some new pics from http://city.newport.net

Newport Galleria and footbridge model shots:
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/006.jpg http://city.newport.net/Galleria/007.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Galleria/008.jpg


A bigger version of the drawing of the inside of the galleria:
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/009.jpg


Old Town Dock - Phase 1:
http://city.newport.net/OldTownDock/002.png

http://city.newport.net/OldTownDock/001.jpg


Footbridge:
http://city.newport.net/Bridge/002.jpg

http://city.newport.net/Bridge/003.jpg


Aerial view of the city centre with the Chartist Tower (Newport's current tallest) in the middle:
http://city.newport.net/Existing/001.jpg

Definitely a cluster developing with the new Modus residential tower being so close to the existing Chartist office tower. Newport City Council are currently considering the detailed planning permission for the Modus scheme, so hopefully we'll have more details soon (such as the final height).

Looking good!

Oh, I didn't realise the Modus scheme had gone to a detailed application allready, that's good news, hopefully it won't be too long to wait before this all happens. It's all gotta be complete by 2010 for the Ryader cup anyway so in any case we won't have too lng to wait. Also don't forget the cambrian centre tower, that's close as well. That's three good sized towers within just a few hundred yards of each other. I'd call that the beginings of a pretty good cluster. Any news on the Cambrian centre scheme? It got full permission in the summer if i remember correctly so demolition/construction ought to be starting.

Looking at that model on the new pics, I think our fears about the penitrability between the river and the city are at least partially answered. If you look at this pic:
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/008.jpg
There is clearly a street through the development going directly into the city centre. As long as this route into the city centre is clear and unrestricted then I do not think there will be a problem here.

Last thing I heard about the Cambrian Centre is that the developers were still in talks with the WDA about potential grants they can get hold of. Plus there was a potential to sell the site with extant planning permission to another developer. The Board Minutes on www.newportunlimited.co.uk are pretty vague, but that's the gist of it. Planning permission was granted in November 2004. How long does it last?!?

November 2004... it'll last till November 2007 then.

Some news about the Cambrian Centre:

Modus Properties is to buy the Cambrian Centre in Newport as part of its plans to redevelop the city.

The site already has planning consent for a 27-storey residential tower, a 100-bedroom hotel, 67,000 sq ft of offices and extensive car parking. Modus's plan will comprise shops, offices, flats and a health and fitness club. The development will also include parking for 890 cars.

Modus hopes the redevelopment will be complete by 2009 in line with the projected completion date for the city centre regeneration.

They don't own it yet? That means it'll probably be a while before we see it start to rise. I'm confident about it and Newport in general though, I think they're quite serious about getting at least the city centre sorted out before the Ryder Cup in 2010 and they're sure to need the extra hotel accomodation that the Cambrian Centre will provide. I'm the council are gonna want as many people to stay in Newport rather than Cardiff for the event in order to see Newport's profile raised rather than the attention going to Cardiff. I think in general there are some pretty good prospects for Newport.

They don't own it yet?

We're not talking about the John Frost Square/Capitol/Upper Dock Street development here (which they DO own) but the Cambrian Centre which until recently was owned by and planning permission granted to Goldtique Developments.


That means it'll probably be a while before we see it start to rise.

I guess it depends how much of the Goldtique plan they want to keep. If they kept it all then they could start work straight away, as the planning permission is still extant from November 2004. From the newspaper reports it suggests that they intend on expanding the retail element of the existing centre ten-fold. That would suggest a rather radical redesign of the Goldtique plans which IIRC didn't include any extra retail element. The residential tower is likely to remain as it's in the Newport Unlimited masterplan and the planning precedent has already been set by the approved Goldtique plans. If they're planning to increase the size of the retail element then perhaps the tower might even get a bit bigger to compensate! ;)

I'm not confusing Cambrian Centre with John Frost Square area, what I was confusing however is the developers. I didn't realise there had been a change in developer from the one that the original consent had been granted to. It could be a good thing that Modus have taken over the Cambrian Centre scheme as it should mean that the two main schemes will better tie in with each other. I wouldn't have thought Modus would make huge changes to the Cambrian Centre scheme as the original plans followed the masterplan by Newport Unlimited. If Modus are making alterations, hopefully it'll be to tie together the two main city centre schemes more closely.

I just can't wait for construction to get started, I'm starting to get more excited about what's going on in Newport than what's going on in both Cardiff and Swansea at the moment. Cardiff is Wales' biggest and most important city, we expect big things to happen there but Newport has in the past been left behind, being behind both Cardiff and Swansea in terms of investment and considered by many as simply part of the commuter belt for Cardiff and yet it's a city with a good deal of potential as the gateway to south east Wales, it's the first sizeable settlement that you hit when you come into Wales along the M4 and by train. With major road improvements ongoing and planned (such as the M4 Toll), Newport is in a very strategic position; it's about time it took advantage of that. It's good to see that it appears to finally be doing so.

the shopping centre is awsome really good picture thanks

the shopping centre is awsome really good picture thanks
The pictures are taken from http://city.newport.net/ I believe.

Yes they were, there's another one on there since I last looked; a night rendering of the new footbridge:
http://city.newport.net/Bridge/004.jpg

Design competition to redesign Market Square:
Regeneration
Introduction

Market Square, Newport – a renewed place and space
International Open Ideas Competition
This competition gives an opportunity to redesign Newport’s existing Market Square to provide a new northern gateway to Newport City centre and a revitalised connection between the historic centre of Newport and the River Usk.

The aim is to transform Market Square into a pedestrian friendly, contemporary space that people will want to use. The intention is also to strengthen views and access to two of Newport’s most important landmarks – the Grade 2 listed Market Hall and the Castle.

Architects, town planners, engineers and urban designers from around the world have been invited to submit their designs from which a shortlist of 6 will be drawn. The shortlisted designs will be anonymously exhibited at the Landscape Institute’s annual conference in Cardiff on 15th -16th March 2006.

Members of the public will also have the chance to express their views before a final decision is made.

The competition has been organised by RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architecture) on behalf of Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited, in partnership with the WDA (Welsh Development Agency) and the Design Commission for Wales.

For further information, please contact:

Urban Regeneration
Newport City Council
Civic Centre
Newport
NP20 4UR
Telephone: (01633) 232556

Email: info@newport.gov.uk

authored by: Community Information Officerlast update: Wed, 8 Mar 2006
www.newport.gov.uk

More information on the Market Square Competition can be obtained from RIBA.
The Market Square Competition represents a fantastic opportunity to design a new northern gateway to Newport city centre and a revitailsed connection between its historic core and the River Usk. Competitors will need to successfully resolve complex transport infrastructure issues and in doing so, generate the land to create an inspirational, contemporary civic space that people will want to use. As well as transforming the surrounding area into a more pedestrian-friendly environment, this will also strengthen the views and access to two of the city centre’s most important landmarks - the Grade II listed market hall and the castle.
Source: http://www.riba.org/go/RIBA/News/Press_5102.html

The competition closed last month, and the winner will be announced shortly at the Landscape Institute’s annual conference (Cardiff, 15-16 March 2006).

That sounds good.
I found a website for the new shopping centre, which appears to no longer be called Newport Galleria (which I'm glad of, that name sounds crap), apparently it's now called Friar's Walk. The website is not up and running yet but there is a placeholder page, here are the images and logo from it:

http://www.drumbeatcreative.com/friarswalk/images/FW_HoldingPage_03.gif
http://www.drumbeatcreative.com/friarswalk/images/FW_HoldingPage_04.gif
http://www.friarswalk.co.uk

Certainly a website to watch in the future methinks!

That sounds good.
I found a website for the new shopping centre, which appears to no longer be called Newport Galleria (which I'm glad of, that name sounds crap)

Yeah, it was a bit generic-sounding, wasn't it! The name of the street that goes under the tower (!!) is called Austin Friars -- named after a friary that once stood on the site. So the new name isn't just one of those random creations that plague newer developments, but actually has some history behind it. I like it!
apparently it's now called Friar's Walk. The website is not up and running yet but there is a placeholder page
I've been checking there occasionally since it showed up on http://city.newport.net/. It's been like that for about three weeks so far. Grrr!

News on the Llanwern site in today's Western Mail - http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0300business/0100news/tm_objectid=16879406%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=former%2dsteel%2dsite%2d%2dsymbol%2dof%2dexciting%2dfuture%2d-name_page.html

News on the Llanwern site in today's Western Mail - http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0300business/0100news/tm_objectid=16879406%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=former%2dsteel%2dsite%2d%2dsymbol%2dof%2dexciting%2dfuture%2d-name_page.html

Also, take a look at: http://www.llanwernregeneration.info/

Pretty big site, shame there aren't any detailed renders available on the website:
http://www.llanwernregeneration.info/images/plan_598.gif

Did any of you get to this:
Exhibition of short-listed design schemes for Market Square, Newport

DATE: 20 March 2006 - 24 March 2006
TIME: 09:30
VENUE: Newport City Centre Library
DESCRIPTION: The short-listed design submissions for the Newport Market Square Open Ideas Competition are to be exhibited in Newport City Centre Library.

The competition is promoted by Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited, working in partnership with the Welsh Development Agency and the Design Commission for Wales. The promoters challenged designers to create a new, dynamic, inspirational space that people will want to use, as well as providing a revitalised connection between the city centre’s commercial core and the west bank of the River Usk.

The competition attracted an excellent international response with registrations from competitors based in the UK, Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, North America and South Africa. Fifty-three submissions were received by the 2 March 2006 deadline.

The jury panel consisted of the Mayor of Newport, representatives from the partner organisations, the President of the Landscape Institute and an architectural adviser from the RIBA. The panel short-listed seven schemes that they felt had responded best to the competition brief and the promoters’ aspirations for the Market Square area.

Members of the public will be invited to comment on the short-listed schemes, which will be displayed anonymously. Responses will be collated and forwarded to the jury panel, who will re-convene to judge the schemes anonymously and select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners in early April 2006.
The short-listed schemes will be on display on Saturday 18 March (9.30am to 4pm) and from Monday 20 March through to Friday 24 March 2006 (9.30am to 6pm).

(Quoted from: http://www.ribacompetitions.com/)
You might want to have a read of this as well: http://www.riba.org/fileLibrary/pdf/Newport_MarketSq_Comp_Brief_final001.pdf

Man, I seem to be endlessly talking to myself on this thread!
I suppose lack of news has stalled discussion but there's plenty of designs to talk about in Newport.

A little reminder:
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/004.jpg

I know it's all a bit unknown at the moment because there's so little news but how about we discuss the designs of some of this stuff and the effect it'll have on Newport...

Personally I think this will have a far bigger effect on Newport than St David's 2 will on Cardiff, it's got the potential to turn the whole city around. Will it ... I think if all these plans for Newport go ahead then that's a distinct possibilty.

Maybe one of the economists is going to rain on my parade here and say it's all doomed to failure!

You might want to have a read of this as well: http://www.riba.org/fileLibrary/pdf/Newport_MarketSq_Comp_Brief_final001.pdf
Any news on a winner yet?

Any news on a winner yet?
Answering my own question (!!)....
http://www.riba.org/go/RIBA/Also/Competitions_5279.html

Cool, I've had a look around and there dont seem to be any pics of the winning designs on the internet. I'm looking forward to seeing them but I suspect it'll be a while (unless someone in Newport is able to take a look and get some pics of the designs and post them up for me)!

A short update:
The Friar's Walk shoping centre development website still only has a placeholder page saying "website coming soon".

Newport Unlimited on the other hand have got a new website, there's not much on it yet but it does have a bit of news about the new footbridge currently going up:

http://newportunlimited.sequence.co.uk/resource/10162.10386.Image.eng.jpg http://newportunlimited.sequence.co.uk/resource/10043.10387.Image.eng.jpg

Article follows:
Footbridge enters final phase
28/04/06
Newport’s new £5 million foot and cycle bridge, the first completed project to be delivered as part of the city’s regeneration programme, will be lifted into position from Monday 1 May 2006.

The tallest crane in the UK is being drafted in, arriving on 48 articulated lorries, to help lift the 70 metre high (229 ft), 850 tonne bridge. The crane itself will take four days to construct on site and weighs nearly 1,400 tonnes – the equivalent of 70 buses or three jumbo jets full of passengers.

It will take approximately a week to assemble the main structure of the bridge, which will stand 17 metres (56 ft) taller than Nelson’s column once erected. Work will continue for another two months to finalise fittings and carry out all necessary safety tests. The bridge is expected to open in August.

Once complete, the bridge will span the River Usk and form a key part of the regeneration plans by allowing quick and easy access for pedestrians travelling from the east into the city centre.

The bridge will feature four crane-like masts, standing in pairs, which will support the bridge from the west bank. The forward mast will be 80 metres (262 ft) long and the back mast will be 70 metres (230 ft) long, but because of the angles at which the masts are positioned, the back mast will be the tallest part of the structure above ground level. The deck is five metres (16 ft) wide, 145 metres (476 ft) long and 4.1 metres (13 ft) above water at mean tide.

The new bridge is a joint project led by urban regeneration company Newport Unlimited, the Welsh Assembly Government and Newport City Council. Contractors are Alfred McAlpine, the design team was led by Atkins special structures group, with architects Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners providing the concept and design services. Newport-based Rowecord Engineering has manufactured the bridge.

(Taken from: http://newportunlimited.sequence.co.uk/newsandevents/index.html?newsId=10199)

That bridge is going to be a monster! The crane weighs 1,400 tonnes? :eek2:

I've just been past the new bridge, it looks totally awesome. :rock:

Debenhams signed the deal to locate in Newport City Centre.

Debenhams signed the deal to locate in Newport City Centre.
Do you remember the classic headline from yesteryear: "Debenhams, Don't Destroy Dock St?". That must've been mid-1990s. How times have changed (thankfully)!

By the way, notice on some of the renderings (like the one posted by Andrew above), the word "Debenhams" is clearly visible on the front of the southern anchor store.

Ah yes, I see that Debenhams now. No, I don't remember those headlines, I'm only 17!
I'm very excited about this Llanwern project but will it pose any health risks, being a former heavy indutrial site?

I'm very excited about this Llanwern project but will it pose any health risks, being a former heavy indutrial site?

Yes, it's certainly an exciting project. I've heard that after extensive remediation works, the entire site is going to be capped with several metres of soil. That should do the trick. Once it's ready to be developed, It'll probably be a cleaner site than most!

Do you know how tall the current tallest building in Newport is?

I think that if you wont be able to see the river through a clear outdoor route through friary walk when walking towards it, then the intended link with the river will have failed. this shopping centre is doing what many do, interupting a flow of people on an important through route, and attempting to divert the flow into the shopping centre. Unfortunately the permeability of the town will suffer as a result.

I think that if you wont be able to see the river through a clear outdoor route through friary walk when walking towards it, then the intended link with the river will have failed. this shopping centre is doing what many do, interupting a flow of people on an important through route, and attempting to divert the flow into the shopping centre. Unfortunately the permeability of the town will suffer as a result.
I agree completely and it's not easy to tell from the pictures we've got whether there will be a clear 24hr accessible route that does not require pedestrians to actually enter the shopping mall. If you look at the pic of the model from this angle:
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/008.jpg
You can see that there is indeed a straight line to the waterfront through the development. If this is actually open (ie. not have to go through doors or anything to get through and accessible 24hrs a day) then it will be ok but the renders do not indicate this either way.
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/004.jpg
Here it looks like just the entrance to the shopping centre but it could be just that the roof extends over a clear route and the actual shopping mall entrance is a little further in. We'll see.

Do you know how tall the current tallest building in Newport is?
Chartist Tower is about 180ft I think.

Regarding the link to the river, I agree it's hard to tell if the obstruction is just the roof of the Galleria, or if pedestrians would need to actually enter/exit the centre to get through.

I think they would take it into accesability to commercial street into consideration, it only looks like a narrow undercover bit before you reach John Frost Square on the other side.

I think they would take it into accesability to commercial street into consideration, it only looks like a narrow undercover bit before you reach John Frost Square on the other side.
Maybe the Charles St/Llanarth St route is blocked by the Galleria, but there will be a new route as Austin Friars is extended through to the riverfront by means of a two-storey tunnel right through the new residential tower.

http://static.flickr.com/51/140013876_42909d36a5.jpg

Wah! You got a new drawing of the development! Where did that come from? Got any more?

You can really see the curve in this one!

http://static.flickr.com/47/140008315_6b1494420e.jpg

The first pic makes it slightly different to what i expected but it looks good. I'm really looking forward to some more high quality renders though; these drawings don't show enough really (although renders can be misleading as well).
If this really does improve permiability between the city centre and the riverside then it'll be brilliant! I take it there's a public exhibition of the plans and that's where these pictures were taken.
I like the curve of the shopping centre, it seems quite a standard interior for a shopping centre but at least it's light and airy. I think the main 'wow' factor of this development will be the residential tower, which could look awesome but were still awaitng a high quality render of that as well as we still only have a drawing of that part of the development.

The first pic makes it slightly different to what i expected but it looks good. I'm really looking forward to some more high quality renders though; these drawings don't show enough really (although renders can be misleading as well).
True. What's missing here is good renders. The only one I've seen is the outside shot of the entrance at night. Every other picture is either a drawing, or a photograph of the infamous scale model.

The tower is definitely the wow factor, and yet we still don't have an official height yet! :bash: I read somewhere it will be the tallest in NP (at least until the Cambrian Centre tops out).

I wish Newport could have the tallest in Wales, imagine 115 metres. :wave: :)

To be honest I think that sort of height would look out of place in Newport and it's not needed. There's no point in Newport trying to compete with Cardiff or Swansea in terms of height, with the current proposals it's gonna have a pretty dramatic skyline as it is with some really interesting shapes. I'm certain that if the current proposals go ahead then Newport certainly wont get left behind and I wont be surprised if there are further proposals for mid and high-rise buildings in the city. I can't think of any other city with a population of <140,000 that has such a striking skyline.

Oxford?!?

Ok, Oxford is a good point but it's not the same kind of skyline.

Wah! You got a new drawing of the development! Where did that come from?

There was an exhibition in the Riverfront (that I couldn't go to!). It had the scale model and a number of freestanding boards with these pictures on. They also had some footprint plans similar to this one:
http://www.gillespies.co.uk/images/editor/CityRegenerationNewport.jpg
but where the writing could actually be made out! I'll see if I can dig it up!

Ah right, that looks good. It seems the plans are at a fairly advanced stage, hopefully we'll be seeing this and the Cambrian centre tower begining construction soon. Do you know when the detailed application is due to be submitted?

I seem to recall (but typically I can't find it!) a quote from the head of Modus saying they were going to put an application in soon. They reckon the site could support:

88,000 sq ft of retail, 160,000 sq ft of residential accommodation, a 38,000 sq ft health and fitness centre and 65,000 sq ft of offices as well as parking for up to 890 cars.

Given the figures quoted for other schemes I did some crude calculations:
Given 7/8 apts/floor and an average of 736 sq ft/apt:

apts = 160,000/736 = 217
f(low) = 217/8 = 27
f(hi) = 217/7 = 31

So it seems that their plans are similar to the original ones, for the tower at least.

That's good news.

They're ripping down the old multi-storeys now and the bridge is almost open, the city should actually look nice in a years time.

Images from the Market Square competition:

http://www.riba.org/go/RIBA/Also/Competitions_5281.html
http://www.riba.org/go/RIBA/Also/Competitions_5286.html

Unfortunately, the winning entry has the smallest picture! :bash:

LOL, with the picture at that size, the winning entry is the only one that we cannot work out the basic concept of from the pic!
http://www.riba.org/imageLibrary/jpeg330/10971.jpg

From that I have little idea whether it's good or bad! The only major feature I can make out is what looks like a TV screen on the side of the building on the right!

I just looked on Newport City Council's website and found a little more news and pics:

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/images/portfolio_previews/p0000001870.jpg

Friars Walk – a new £200m retail scheme
Developers Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd are leading a £200 million facelift of the city centre which will create hundreds of jobs, and attract high profile retailers.

The new retail scheme covers an area comprising of Kingsway, Upper Dock Street, John Frost Square and the Bus Station. A key feature of the development will be to bring together Newport’s riverfront and commercial centre, allowing people to walk easily between the two areas.

Work on the four-hectare site is expected to start in Spring 2007 and be completed in time for the thousands of visitors expected to the city for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Friars Walk
a mixed use development including retail, leisure, residential, public spaces, cafes and restaurants
a total of 388,000 sq ft of retail including a 105,000 sq ft Debenhams department store
12,500 sq ft of restaurants
6,000 sq ft health club
47,000 sq ft multi-screen cinema
city centre residential units
Improved car parking facilities for up to a total of 1,400 cars (including spaces within the new Kingsway car park)
How it will look…
A two tiered shopping centre made up of high street retailers and independents. The jewel in the crown will be a 105,000 sq ft Debenhams department store. The shopping centre or Galleria will be curved in design and covered by a simple glass canopy at the highest level. The top floor of the Galleria will feature cafes, bars and restaurants.

Kingsway Boulevard and river frontage will be landscaped with a new public space, Usk Place, formed at the waterfront. The riverfront will be a place where people come to eat, drink and watch the world go by.

Pedestrian links across the site are achieved via Llanarth Street and Austin Friars – both of which are extended eastwards and developed to connect with the riverfront. Austin Friars will connect with the riverside via a new footbridge over the Kingsway Boulevard.

The Bus Station will be a totally new facility integrated fully with the Galleria.

John Frost Square will be remodelled. It will remain an important public space for public events and civic activities.

Water forms a key part of the scheme with numerous water features spread about the city centre linking together the various areas and reinforcing the importance of the River Usk.

(Taken from:http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=citycentre.homepage&contentid=CONT061288

http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/images/portfolio_previews/p0000001808.jpg

Kingsway Shopping Centre and Car Park
As part of a £20 million project, the Kingsway Shopping Centre is being refurbished to turn the already successful retail complex into a modern shopping experience. The old Kingsway car park is also being replaced with a new 1,050 space car park.

Contractors began the demolition of the existing car park in early April 2006 and work is expected to take until mid-summer. Completion of the new car park is anticipated in Autumn 2007.

Plans for the 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sq m) shopping centre include the complete refurbishment of the internal malls, new entrances and a new glazed central square, along with a new food court and a 55,000 sq ft anchor store. New retail units will be built at the entrance from John Frost Square.

The new building work and refurbishment is due to start in June 2006, with completion of the whole project scheduled for early summer 2007.

UBS Global Asset Management Triton Property Fund purchased the Kingsway shopping centre in February 2004 and appointed Chester Properties as its asset manager with responsibility for the refurbishment.

The architect for the project is the Colman Group which has been involved with the Capitol Centre in Cardiff and the Quadrant Centre in Swansea. Letting agents are Capital Retail in London and Savills in Bristol.

(Taken from: http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=citycentre.homepage&contentid=CONT061294)

Footbridge under construction (12 May):
http://newportunlimited.sequence.co.uk/resource/10273.10656.file.eng.jpg
http://www.newportunlimited.co.uk/

They said in today's local newspaper that there will be no canopies on the new shopping centre as that would give drug dealers alcoves to hide in, I don't really understand what they're on about. :sleepy:

They said in today's local newspaper that there will be no canopies on the new shopping centre as that would give drug dealers alcoves to hide in, I don't really understand what they're on about. :sleepy:
Compare the old and new pix:
http://www.newport.gov.uk/_dc/images/portfolio_previews/p0000001808.jpg
http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/_images/db/22/66/P4_canopy_090606.226635.full.jpg

The new design has that large glassy box where the canoy used to be. I don't know exactly why canopies necessarily attract drug dealers, but the new design is definitely better.

It does look much more modern now, sticks out more so there's more internal space by the looks of things. Entrance to the museum seems to have changed as well.

Bigger picture from city.newport.net:

http://city.newport.net/Galleria/010.jpg

Brilliant! Looking much better now, I cant wait to see this one happen. It also seems that our fears about permeability are put to rest as there is a definate open route through to the river on that render.

New leaflet with today's Argus has an advert for Friars' Walk on the back cover. It has a new view looking straight along Austin Friars through the two-storey hole in the tower. I wish these people would release these designs as some kind of VRML or other kind of 3D model that we could look around! :D

New leaflet with today's Argus has an advert for Friars' Walk on the back cover. It has a new view looking straight along Austin Friars through the two-storey hole in the tower. I wish these people would release these designs as some kind of VRML or other kind of 3D model that we could look around! :D
Sounds good... any chance someone could scan it in? ;)

Seems like they want to get on with things, the old block next to Kingsway collapsed last night. No-one was injured but the whole city centre looks like a building site atm.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/5190146.stm

That was the old bridge bit across Emlyn Walk wasn't it? The old "Rafters" night club?
I'm not quite sure how this fits in with the expansion of the Kingsway Centre, but certainly on the inside of the centre all the shops along that side have been bought out by UBS. Intriguing.

The website for the Friar's Walk shopping centre is now online, unfortunately there are no downloadable renders or video presentations or anything which is a bit of a shame but there are some slightly better renders in some of the windows behind the menus and there's some extra info about the project, it's certainly worth a look. It's also more confirmation that this is actually going to happen.

Im really hoping that the new shopping areas will turn things around for Newport, I have a feeling that when the new business campus is built just opposite it'll really turn things around for Newport.

Im really hoping that the new shopping areas will turn things around for Newport, I have a feeling that when the new business campus is built just opposite it'll really turn things around for Newport.
Are you referring to the new office development at Dumfries Place:
http://city.newport.net/Dumfries/001.jpg

or the offices earmarked for the Cambrian Centre area (the red building)?
http://city.newport.net/Cambrian/s003.jpg

By 'business campus' I assumed he meant business school for newport university not the offices being built in the city centre. The masterplan for the city does include new facilities for the university and I think some are near the new shopping centre.
I didn't know about those offices at Dumfries Place, can't really see them properly in that small pic but they look like they should be relatively smart.

By the way, welcome to the forum 6underground.

The new uni campus will be next to the river, alongside the new white bridge around where the Riverside car park is now. I'll try to take some photos when I go into town on Thursday. Where is Dumfries Place?

Where is Dumfries Place?
A picture (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Dumfries+Place,+Newport&ie=UTF8&ll=51.584263,-2.989837&spn=0.004907,0.011555&t=h&om=1) is worth a thousand words!

That's a lot of development for such a small city, it seems I'm gonna have to take another trip down to Newport soon.

By 'business campus' I assumed he meant business school for newport university not the offices being built in the city centre. The masterplan for the city does include new facilities for the university and I think some are near the new shopping centre.

Thanks for the Welcome btw!

I'm only using the phrase "Business Campus" as it was described to me this way when I was out at Caerleon University recently. Basically the campus at Usk (which is mainly business) is being moved into the city centre.

I cannot remember where ive seen the pictures/renders of these new developments, but i'm 90% sure that the new campus will be located on the river front by Rodney road (near the stadium).

and no, those aren't the images i remember seeing.

EDIT:

BINGO:

http://www.newport.ac.uk/news/06/mar06/march0617.htm

http://www.newport.ac.uk/sclo/newslink17.pdf

http://www.newport.ac.uk/news/images/modelcampus03a.jpg

Here's some pics i took yesterday with my phone, sorry about the weather.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/830/image893ga2.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/6858/image896ja1.jpg
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/47/image894kc3.jpg

Is this Dumfries Place in Pill where they're building them offices by the BMW garage?

I believe thats where the Galleria will be (in the second and last picture). Albeit in the last near the bus station, is where the offices will be and the tower.

Is this Dumfries Place in Pill where they're building them offices by the BMW garage?
A bit further north, just behind the Newport Centre.

A bit further north, just behind the Newport Centre.
Yes, as you can tell from the Google maps link earlier it is the site of the old tyre depot at the Granville St roundabout on Usk Way.

I believe thats where the Galleria will be (in the second and last picture). Albeit in the last near the bus station, is where the offices will be and the tower.
Indeed. The Capitol Car Park is where the bulk of the Galleria will be. I read in the paper the other day that there is still an outstanding enquiry to be held in September before any work starts.

I'm only using the phrase "Business Campus" as it was described to me this way when I was out at Caerleon University recently. Basically the campus at Usk (which is mainly business) is being moved into the city centre.
Ah right, you are talking about the Tertiary College then, not the university. If I recall there is a plan to combine some Tertiary College functions with the city centre university campus. I'll see if I can find anything...

Edit: Here we are http://archive.southwalesargus.co.uk/2006/2/14/80198.html

The plans for Newport never fail to amaze me recently! The city is really serious about bringing attention back to the riverside and making the most of it's potential. It looks like Newport is going to have an excellent riverside in a few years time.
If the final designs for the new city centre campus follows the kinds of ideas that this model shows then we could be in for a real treat.
http://www.newport.ac.uk/news/images/modelcampus03a.jpg

That along with the footbridge, Friar's Walk, the redesign of Market Square and the housing on the other bank, the riverside could be a real showcase of contemporary architecture!
http://www.riba.org/imageLibrary/jpeg330/10971.jpg

http://www.gillespies.co.uk/images/editor/CityRegenerationNewport.jpg

Some updates:

Crossed the Newport City Footbridge for the first time yesterday, and on the east bank are large Newport Unlimited posters. It mentions the Modus Cambrian Centre scheme, but suggests that the tower will only be 20 storeys instead of the Goldtique plan's 27. Of course no-one knows until they submit their planning application, so it could still be the same ballpark figure.

Also in yesterday's Argus and today's Western Mail are the plans for the apartments at Rodney Parade. Buildings ranging from 4 to 14 storeys. Today's WM has an artists impression which (although the tallest only seems to be 13 storeys) broadly follows the NU masterplan: http://www.newport.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/agenda/cont042922.pdf

Todays Argus has a two-page spread of the newly-named "City Reach" Rodney Parade development. The proposals actually exceed the Newport Unlimited masterplan. The masterplan showed buildings of 6, 6, 8, 6, 6, 4, 6, 12+ and 8 storeys in height, but the Argus picture shows 8, 8, 8, 6, 6, 8, 6, 8, 14, and 8 storeys.

Brilliant, I've got the render in the Western Mail and was going to add the 14 story tower to the Newport list of skyscrapernews.com. Is the render/drawing in the Argus better than the one in the Western Mail? If so, would you be able to scan it in and post it here?
Also, the Western Mail article mentions that there's some consultation on the scheme tomorrow and Saturday. Is anyone planning to go, if so can you get some oics of the plans and heights for any buildings over 11 floors high. I'd quite like to get down to Newport either after work tomorrow or on Saturday myself to get pics of the new bridge but I'm not sure if it'll be possible.

Here's a scan from city.newport.net (http://city.newport.net/):
I can't tell if there's anything missing from the fold in the middle...

http://city.newport.net/CityReach/002.jpg

Yeah, that's right - shows the right number of buildings! Of course there will be a second phase from to the right of there all the way to George Street Bridge, which may or may not include another 12+. The masterplan has a 10-storey building in that phase, but Wimpey seem to have added two floors to most of them! :)

As for the consultation, I think there's something at the Memorial Gates at Rodney Parade until 6pm. Plus at the end of the footbridge are a load of information panels that I didn't have the time to absorb as I was trying to control a 3-year old at the same time!

The Cambrian Centre redevelopment now has a name and official website.

It's called City Spires (http://www.cityspires.co.uk/) and the main apartment building has increased to 29 storeys. The office building also seems to have grown taller, as does the car park.

http://city.newport.net/CitySpires/001.jpg
To the left is the office, and the right shows the shops fronting Cambrian St with the car park on top.

http://city.newport.net/CitySpires/002.gif
View from Queensway Blvd showing the apartment building on the right.

The Cambrian Centre redevelopment now has a name and official website.
Awesome! So my maths was right then? :D
BTW, I count 11 storeys in the office, 7 in the car park and 30 in the tower!

Oh wow!! That's friggin amazing! I also prefer this to the original Rotunda design, brilliant!

Yes, I like the new design better as well. I don't know who the architects are, but there's no mention of this building on the original architects web site. Anyway, the plans should be in this month, and the word is the tower might even be 30+ storeys.

Yes, I like the new design better as well. I don't know who the architects are, but there's no mention of this building on the original architects web site. Anyway, the plans should be in this month, and the word is the tower might even be 30+ storeys.
There is a presentation in the City Market on Thursday which may have some more juicy details. Planning app is submitted this month!

New info on the City Spires development:

The tower looks to be 30 storeys on the Queensway Blvd side, and 31 on Railway St side.

http://city.newport.net/CitySpires/coded.jpg

Plan view:

http://city.newport.net/CitySpires/plan.jpg

duplicate

duplicate

duplicate :spam1:

Beautiful! I love the way the tower seems to float over the seven storey glass atrium thingy. Still doesn't quite show how many floors in the hotel part - looks like three, then four, then a hidden floor before the tower proper starts.

OMG OMG OMG!!!!
That's friggin awesome, that's one of my favourite high-rise proposals in Wales! WOW! To think this isn't in Cardiff or Swansea, it's Newport, what a coup for Newport to get this in the bag!

Expect to see a news story about this on www.skyscrapernews.com in... about 30 mins to an hour!

EDIT:
Well I took a little longer than I said on account of me going to the pub for a couple of hours but now exists Newport's 2nd ever news article on skyscrapernews.com.
Nothing in it that isn't already on this board though. If you notice any mistakes factual or otherwise do say so I can edit it.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=744

EDIT:
Well I took a little longer than I said on account of me going to the pub for a couple of hours
:scouserd:

If you notice any mistakes factual or otherwise do say so I can edit it.
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=744

Missing an apostrophe in the title. :doh:
"hoards" should be "hordes".:hammer:
Last three sentences are kind of irrelevant in a news article. :dunno:

Apart from that, I like it! You have a future in skyscraper journalism!:applause:

:scouserd:


Missing an apostrophe in the title. :doh:
"hoards" should be "hordes".:hammer:
Last three sentences are kind of irrelevant in a news article. :dunno:

Apart from that, I like it! You have a future in skyscraper journalism!:applause:

And, since we're indulging ourselves in pedanticity...!

"City Spires main tower will comprise of 23 floors of residential accommodation"

That should be simply "comprise", rather than "comprise of". You consist of, but you don't comprise of. :) But yes, a well written article, summarising all the relevant details conscisely and readably. :cucumber:


Damn fine proposal there for the 'Port. I still find the Friar's Walk tower more intriguing architecturally, but it's a hell of a lot better than the rotunda design, and is surprisingly elegant for such a mass. :applause:

Changed most of the things mentioned but it seems that I didn't miss out the apostrophe in the title in the first place. Rather it seems that the database won't accept them in the title because when I changed that there still was no apostrophe. Strange, oh well.

I think the new 'City Spires' design looks great and it's quite a coup for Newport to have got it! I particularly like the look of the glass atrium that seems to span all seven floors of the hotel at the front.

Changed most of the things mentioned but it seems that I didn't miss out the apostrophe in the title in the first place. Rather it seems that the database won't accept them in the title because when I changed that there still was no apostrophe. Strange, oh well.

Yeah, I guessed it was a database thing, as you didn't miss the apostrophes in the article itself. Oh well.


I think the new 'City Spires' design looks great and it's quite a coup for Newport to have got it! I particularly like the look of the glass atrium that seems to span all seven floors of the hotel at the front.
I agree. I can't wait to see some renders from that angle -- a seven-storey glass atrium should be quite a sight!

I agree. I can't wait to see some renders from that angle -- a seven-storey glass atrium should be quite a sight!
There were some renders from that angle at the Market exhibition, but I didn't take a camera with me! aaagghhh!! :doh:

Doh!

http://www.newportunlimited.com/interactive/index.html

I found a virtual animation of the new developments coming to the 'port...a bit
out of date if the new designs for the cambrian centre go through, but a
compulsive watch no less...looking forwards to 2020 :)

D

http://www.newportunlimited.com/interactive/index.html

I found a virtual animation of the new developments coming to the 'port...a bit
out of date if the new designs for the cambrian centre go through, but a
compulsive watch no less...looking forwards to 2020 :)

D

Like you said, the flyby is a bit out-of-date, but it's certainly fun. Of course, most of the development will be complete by 2010! :scouserd:

lol yeah, they only got around to putting that animation on the website within the last couple of weeks and it's already out of date! It does give a great impression of what the city might be like though.I'm thinking of ordering the DVD so I can watch it in high-res.

There is one thing that really deeply concerns me about watching that animation.

At what price?

I'm not talking fanancially, i'm talking culturally and more specifically architecturally. Sure, some of the most hideous buildings will be demolished but what of the buildings that are trully unique (in a positive way) to Newport?

Here's an example:

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/43/newportsv7.jpg

The former "Odeon", is probably one of my favourite buildings in Newport. Despite the fact it looks rather impoverished right now. It's Newport's only true art deco building AND, they really pushed the boat out (in design terms) for it. I would completely protest the demolishing of it.

Is there some list of buildings that are going to be demolished?

and yes, i think the "Odeon" is a listed building now but i did notice that it appears Newport Lesuire centre will be one of those to say proverbial "bye bye", judging by the animation.

I thought they were keeping the leisure centre unless they're planning to build a new one. It's not really all that special though is it? It's not a great historical piece of architecture like the odeon...
http://www.tjs-newport.demon.co.uk/rg/centre/Centre.jpg

By the way, I don't recall having ever seen the odeon. Where is it? If they were to knock it down I too would be very unhappy after having seen what it looks like. Art Deco is quite rare in the UK and this being the only true building of this type in the city it would be very wrong to knock it down.

They ain't knocking the Odeon down, or the old Technical college. Off the top of my head is a list of buildings for the chop:

Capitol Car Park (including northern edge of John Frost Square, linking it to the old Littlewoods building)
Bus station
Single-storey red-brick buildings on Upper Dock St flanking the bus station
Yellow-brick buildings on eastern edge of John Frost Square
Existing Cambrian Centre (except Wetherspoons)
Everything else (Old Town Dock, Rodney Parade, site for new Kingsway Multi-storey car park, &c) is already cleared.

I thought they were keeping the leisure centre unless they're planning to build a new one. It's not really all that special though is it? It's not a great historical piece of architecture like the odeon...
http://www.tjs-newport.demon.co.uk/rg/centre/Centre.jpg

By the way, I don't recall having ever seen the odeon. Where is it? If they were to knock it down I too would be very unhappy after having seen what it looks like. Art Deco is quite rare in the UK and this being the only true building of this type in the city it would be very wrong to knock it down.

It's so surprising when you look up isn't it! I trully didn't know such a magnifient example of Art Deco architecture existed in newport bar three weeks ago, when i just happened to look up at it, by the cenitaf. It's located just across the road from TJ's on the corner. Iceland side, by the Tax office.

About the lesuire centre. I know it's not the most glamourous of buildings, but i do have fond memories of going there, it would be a shame to see it go.

I'll keep my eyes out. Incidentally, i've also started to 3D model it:

http://img323.imageshack.us/img323/6671/odeonupdatexb9.jpg

I think we take so many thing for granted today, that we just dont bother looking above street level to see such fine examples of architecture.

That said, whomever designed the "Odeon" really went the full hog in design terms.

Wow, nice 3-D model. Have you thought using your talents on Google Earth?

As far as the list of buildings that are being razed, I say good riddance. I think the list oglord has provided is accurate, and there's nothing even remotely worth keeping in there.

New render of the City Spires tower from city.newport.net. This shows the eight-storey glass atrium:

http://city.newport.net/CitySpires/004.jpg

That looks great! What software do you use to produce your 3d models?
It is amazing how often we miss what good stuff we've got. I had absolutely no idea such a great example of art deco architecture existed in Newport.

As for the leisue centre, I've looked at the video again and the sports cebtre isn't getting knocked down. The octagonal shaped bit is very clear on the renders and you can see the whole thing on this pic of the model:
http://city.newport.net/Galleria/008.jpg

LOL you beat me to it with the render.

:banana: You can count the floors better in this version. Even though you can't see the very top floor because it is set-back from the rest you can just about see the roofline of it. By my count there are 30 visible floors on this elevation, and given that the Railway Street side is lower by one floor, that makes the total 31?!? :eek:

Absolutely awesome! This is a real quality proposal for Newport! I've said this a number of times before and I'm saying it again because every new bit of news confirms it; Newport is really doing well for itself, these changes are going to make it a completely new city. I find the transformation of Newport over the next few years more exciting than the transformation of both Cardiff and Swansea! I've also ordered a copy of the virtual animation DVD from Newport Unlimited, it seems to be free as theres no mention of cost on the website. Hopefully soon I'll be seeing a cool high-res animation of Newport on DVD soon!

Wow - that looks even better than I expected! I like the way the front cantilevers out over the atrium.

I think the overall quality of this will depend much on the quality of the cladding. It's a great design but if they use cheap glass for the atrium or the same cheap render they seem to always use in Cardiff at the moment for the white walls then it'll be let down.
If the materials are good quality then it could easily become one of if not the best new highrise building in Wales! In fact together with the Friars Walk development residential tower, Newport could be home to two of the best in Wales!

Wow, nice 3-D model. Have you thought using your talents on Google Earth?

Not up until recently... I've also modelled the Cardiff B.T tower and a friend of mine has modelled the entire Millennium stadium. I will look into it, depending on the software required.

[QUOTE]That looks great! What software do you use to produce your 3d models?
It is amazing how often we miss what good stuff we've got. I had absolutely no idea such a great example of art deco architecture existed in Newport.[QUOTE]

Thanks! I use 3Dsmax7 primarily, although i do sometimes use Lightwave. The former Odeon is such a beautiful building. Next time you are around clarence place look up and over towards TJ's... Marvelous detail.

We pay so much attention to streetlevel, the rubbish, the dirtyness, we get the instant impression that Newport is just crap. It's when you look up you realise what beauty there is in this town.

I took a photo recently (about two days ago):

http://static.flickr.com/108/280164364_2b15174ad0.jpg
Full image here (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=280164364&size=l)

I took alot of photo's of the building from different angles. Unfortunately i couldnt go inside as they had obviously shut down for the day, but having a look through the doors, the inner decor is very much 1930's. I was honestly waiting to see a suit wearing gangster to appear out of the shadows.... :uh:

Thanks Andrew for clearing up the lesuire centre scare! Im abit relieved about that. Looks liek it's just the crap that's being wiped from the Earth. It also appears that the bus station is being relocated more northwards?

That Spire building is gorgeous! I'm already thinking of modelling it! Wait for some extra renders though!

Seems like it was proper Newport weather when you took that photo!
I can see where you mean now with Clarence House on the left of the picture. Newport has a reputation as being a pretty grim city (which is certainly true of some areas) but it does actually have a number of pretty nice buildings as well. I'm confident that the new developments will really make the best of the city, sweeping away the worst stuff and replacing it with some quality modern architecture. I hope it will also make the most of the older architecture that Newport has as well, that there will be restoration projects at the same time as new build.

Sorry for the second post in a row but I've been doing a bit of searching and found these from city spires website (http://www.cityspires.co.uk/) (that's where the excellent night render above originally came from so I've posted it again):
http://www.drumbeatcreative.co.uk/spires/images/home%202.jpg http://www.drumbeatcreative.co.uk/spires/images/contact%202.jpg http://www.drumbeatcreative.co.uk/spires/images/location%202.jpg


I've also found these pics of the refurbishment of the Kingsway shopping centre here (http://www.kingswaycentre.com/):
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6661/kingsway1dz4.jpg

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7913/kingsway2af9.jpg

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/6876/kingsway3op8.jpg

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5116/kingsway4dh9.jpg

Here's a computer animated fly-through of the refurbished kingsway shopping centre:
http://www.kingswayshopping.co.uk/avi.html

Great new pics of City Spires! That tower has at least a 4 storey structural element above the 31st floor -- plus there's a spire on top of that!

Amazing!

I think the overall quality of this will depend much on the quality of the cladding.
Yes, I couldn't agree more.

Yes, I couldn't agree more.
Although I'm of the opinion that it's best to get it built first and then we can argue about cladding later. Buildings can always be re-clad such as Stadium House, Holland House, the former AA building &c. but you can't re-clad a building that doesn't exist! :D

It all looks great, but which are actually definately going to happen and which are still with the planners?

It all looks great, but which are actually definately going to happen and which are still with the planners?

Modus have invested a lot of money into buying up both large areas of John Frost Square (for Friars' Walk) and the Cambrian Centre (for City Spires). They have a track record for actually developing things rather than just talking about it!

Lets hope so, thanks for the info

Yes, I think these are fairly likely to actually happen this time. I know that in the past Newport has been pretty well known for having loads of plans, none of which have actually happened, but this time it's being led by a Urban Regeneration Company which has a decent bit of weight and a fair ammount of government resources behind it as well as developers who have a pretty good track record of actually building what they propose. Plus they effectively have a deadline to work to for the major projects, there'll be a lot of embarassment for both the city and (perhaps more importantly) Labour's track record on regeneration (considering the URC's are their flagship schemes) if there isn't something pretty substantial to show for all this by the time the Ryder cup arrives in Newport. I'm confident that this one's going to happen.

I'm officially a very, very sad human being! I went out to lectures this morning, and when I got back I was actually really excited to find that the virtual animation DVD I ordered from Newport Unlimited had come through the door. I swear that's a slightly unhealthy interest! You're not meant to have that kind of a reaction to an urban regeneration project DVD are you??

Anyway, well the video is the same as the one on the website but it's really cool to see it in full resolution glory! You also get a flash presentation with an overview of all the plans on a separate disk, it's interesting but it's nothing new. It's a little bit of a shame that neither the animation nor the presentation features the new City Spires development instead of the original Cambrian centre one. That new tower would look absolutely awesome in the animation, especially if they showed it like they show Friar's Walk.

Yaay! I wonder if they'll send one all the way to the US?

LOL, I have no idea, you could always try!

Yaay! I wonder if they'll send one all the way to the US?

and one to Australia? I will give it a try :o)

In today's city council planning applications digest: Planning application 06/1495 submitted on 20/10/2006 for City Spires. It is listed as:

MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT COMPRISING: RETAIL, COMMERCIAL, OFFICE USES (USE CLASSES A1, A2, A3 AND B1); HOTEL; 228 RESIDENTIAL APARTMENTS; AND ASSOCIATED CAR PARKING AND LANDSCAPING.

No juicy details as yet - for that, we'll have to wait for the Planning Committee reports...

Awesome, thanks for the info.

One small addition to http://city.newport.net an additional and slightly more detailed render of the housing for Old Town Dock:
http://city.newport.net/OldTownDock/003.jpg

Planning application in today for student accommodation south of the Castle Bingo club on Usk Way comprising 108 flats, 518 bedrooms on 8 storeys.

That's good, have you seen any drawings or renders? I hope the design quality is high. I don't know where on Usk Way the Castle Bingo club is, which side of the road will these student flats be on? Just wondering if they'll form part of the new river frontage.

I don't know where on Usk Way the Castle Bingo club is, which side of the road will these student flats be on? Just wondering if they'll form part of the new river frontage.
I'm pretty sure the plot they're developing first is on the riverside (i.e east of Usk Way), just south of George St. Bridge.

New offices on George Street taken from http://city.newport.net:

http://city.newport.net/WISP/wisp3.jpg

http://city.newport.net/WISP/wisp.jpg

http://city.newport.net/WISP/wisp4.jpg

Planning application in yesterdays South Wales Argus for City Vizion. Listed as:

Proposed development at land at Rodney Road, Maindee, Newport (between Newport Bridge and George Street Bridge)... Construction of a residential-led mixed-use development including 483 residential units, riverside walk and defence works, 993 sq. m (10,700 sq. ft) of retail/commercial space, car parking and the provision of new public areas.

That sounds quite substantial

Interestingly, there is another public notice in today's Argus:

Schedule 2 Articles 6, 7 and 9 Part 1
Town and Country Planning Act (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19950419_en_1.htm)

for 486 units and 1,030 sq m (11,086 sq ft) of retail/commercial. How odd - they've managed to squeeze 3 more units and an extra 37 sq m of retail space out of it!

Anybody noticed that theres been a GoogleEarth update for Newport? You can now see the arts centre and the SDR bridge, and it's a sunnier day too.

Anybody noticed that theres been a GoogleEarth update for Newport? You can now see the arts centre and the SDR bridge, and it's a sunnier day too.
Wow -- I check out Google Earth/Maps quite frequently, and I'd not noticed that. I guess the addition of the SDR bridge proves it's a more recent set of photos! ;) :banana:


Any idea what the lower limit on the age of the photos is?

i worked them out to be about 1 year old - due to my car in my drive

I don't mean to sound negative - I'mgenuinely interested - but how does Newport support a 30+ storey tower?

By digging a nice big hole, pouring some concrete ...

Yes very funny, with the greatest respect Newport is, what, 150,000 people with Cardiff and Bristol nearby taking up a lot of the potential office and residential growth surely, its just very impressive thatsuch a small place can plan to build something taller than anything in all but a few of the nations biggest cities.

From the aerial on the first page of this thread Newport looks quite low density and not particularly wide spread. Won't it be a bit out of character?

Yes very funny, with the greatest respect Newport is, what, 150,000 people

Yes, for now, although the growth strategy of Newport Unlimited and Newport City Council forecasts this to grow by at least 20,000 in the next 10-12 years.

with Cardiff and Bristol nearby taking up a lot of the potential office and residential growth surely, its just very impressive that such a small place can plan to build something taller than anything in all but a few of the nations biggest cities.

It is impressive! That's why we like it!

From the aerial on the first page of this thread Newport looks quite low density and not particularly wide spread. Won't it be a bit out of character?
Aerial shots always make places look spread out. Aerial shots of the West End of London show large areas of green space that one doesn't notice on the ground. A high-rise cluster has to begin somewhere - there are concrete plans for at least two other towers in the immediate vicinity (if you pardon the pun!)

The newest direction in urban design is to build with a higher density rather than spreading outwards into the countryside. As oglord said, Newport is at the very beginning of a large-scale expansion, and these towers are the first signs of that.

Everyone on SSC should be excited that 30+ towers are being created in the UK -- I know I am! :banana:

I'm always excited that new towers are being built, but I don't think high density works in all circumstances.

We all know that young professional singles have taken to high density city centre living, but when people get a little older and/or have families they tend to prefer suburban homes and lifestyles away from the noise/crime/traffic/bad schools of the inner city.

I guess the promoters of the scheme in Newport must be hoping to capture commuters priced out of Cardiff and Bristol. Whether this type of development in this location will be successful is a moot point, but we can at least hope it is - urban regeneration in Wales needs to be about more than Cardiff.

Indeed. In order to have a healthy market, both city-centre 1/2 bed apartments and larger suburban family homes are needed. This is especially true in Newport because:


Rising house prices across Britain generally mean than young couples cannot afford the traditional suburban homes that currently make up most of the housing stock.
The city centre has historically had little to no residential element.

I have a feeling that this particular development will sell pretty quickly!

I guess one reason why I'm slightly sceptical about new high density residential schemes in Newport (and also in my hometown, Swansea) is that, as Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has explained, there is a lot of evidence that highly skilled young people have to be attracted to a city by the quality of life, amenities and and built environment it can offer.

Things like public spaces, attractive architecture, vibrant culture, museums, art galleries, restaurants, cafes and nightlife are all needed alongside housing stock that people find attractive and want to buy. I'm just not certain that Newport has those kinds of facilities yet, although maybe I'm just stereotyping a place I know relatively little about, and maybe the whole Newport Unlimited project will improve the city's "offer" anyway.

If you say the target market is not young professionals but local young couples, maybe that changes the ball game slightly - I guess we're relying on the new city centre apartments being priced competitively. In Swansea, however, some of the new flats on the waterfront are priced at something like £122k plus for a one bedroom place, while but you can still get a cheaper 2 bedroom plus houses in certain neighbourhoods for less than 100 grand.

I guess one reason why I'm slightly sceptical about new high density residential schemes in Newport (and also in my hometown, Swansea) is that, as Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has explained, there is a lot of evidence that highly skilled young people have to be attracted to a city by the quality of life, amenities and and built environment it can offer.

Things like public spaces, attractive architecture, vibrant culture, museums, art galleries, restaurants, cafes and nightlife are all needed alongside housing stock that people find attractive and want to buy. I'm just not certain that Newport has those kinds of facilities yet, although maybe I'm just stereotyping a place I know relatively little about, and maybe the whole Newport Unlimited project will improve the city's "offer" anyway.

If it all happens as is planned it'll completely transform Newport city centre. That's not exagerating, the masterplan envisages effectively a new city centre and it includes within the scheme new infrastructure such as the new bus station as well as completely remodeling many of the city's public spaces.

Copied below is text from Modus about City Spires. Not any new information as far as I can tell, apart from construction starting this year. Oh, and the font has changed on the official site (http://www.cityspires.co.uk/)! ;)

City Spires planning application submitted
Modus have submitted a planning application for City Spires in Newport City. This mixed use regeneration project, which is the redevelopment of the Cambrian centre, is a further part of the overall regeneration of this south Wales city.

Modus are proposing a scheme including; 90,000 sq.ft. of retail and leisure accommodation, 85,000 sq.ft. headquarters office building, 882 space multistorey car park, 112 bedroom hotel and 228 new one and two bedroom apartments. City Spires will be a strong mixed use/ retail location which will link the train station and one of the city's largest shopper car parks with Commercial Street and Friars Walk.

Extensive consultation has taken place in order to establish public opinion on this new scheme. Pending a timely approval of the application the construction should commence in late 2007 with the new scheme opening in 2009/2010.

Damian Flood, Director at Modus, said “This is a very exciting scheme for Newport and we are looking forward to bringing a selection of up-market retailers as well as a hotel to the city. We are also pleased to be offering people purpose designed city living and office accommodation. The Landmark Tower, located at the gateway to the city, will become a focal point for Newport.”

I thought there had been an application put in for this when we first heard about it, maybe it was just outline and this is the detailed one. I'll see if I can find the time to go and have a look at the plans on monday or tuesday next week. This could be a great development for Newport, although much depends on the quality of the facade materials, if it's white stucco render like they've used on so many buildings in Cardiff recently I'll cry! Although it certainly doesn't look like it in this render:
http://www.drumbeatcreative.co.uk/spires/images/location%202.jpg

I really hope it doesn't get shot down by NIMBYs.

Yes, the new report on Modus' site said the application was submitted in November -- so much for their "news" section! :nuts:

I totally agree about the façade material -- that stucco can be pretty horrid looking.

Newport July 2003:
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/814NewportRiverPano_pic1.jpg (http://www.skyscrapernews.com/panosearch.php?libs=0&plib=ps&country=United+Kingdom&c1=Outside+London&cities=newport&c2=None&keywords=&dates=&Submit=Search)

Newport January 2007:
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/855NewportSkyline_pic1.jpg (http://www.skyscrapernews.com/panosearch.php?libs=0&plib=ps&country=United+Kingdom&c1=Outside+London&cities=newport&c2=None&keywords=&dates=&Submit=Search)

Newport Circa 2010:
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8251/skylinepanoramavision3sb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And in B&W:
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/4809/skylinepanoramavisionbw8ur.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Good work Andrew...looking forward to them even more so now...:)

That's pretty excellent work there Andrew!

I did a 3d mock-up in Google Sketchup a while back, and imported it into Google Earth -- but it's difficult to visualize because everything else appears flat!

Is it possible to put the 3d models into a normal skyline photograph like this one? It'd probably look better than just photoshopping the drawings and renders of projects into the pic.

Interesting application in today's city council weekly planning list:

Site: PENMAEN WHARF, CHURCH STREET, NEWPORT NP20 2BY

Proposal: ERECTION OF APARTMENT BLOCK COMPRISING 114 APARTMENTS,
BOOKING OFFICE ASSOCIATED WITH PLEASURE BOAT LANDING FACILITIES, CAFETERIA,
CREATION OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACE AND ASSOCIATED CAR PARKING

Applicant: COLLINGBOURNE PROPERTIES
C/O NEWPORT AUCTIONS LTD

Application type: Full

How big would this be? At a standard 7.4 apartments/floor for residential towers this gives 15/16 floors...

Discuss!!

Also one from last year relating to discharge of conditions for Friars Walk, if anyone's interested:

Proposal: PARTIAL DISCHARGE OF CONDITIONS 02 (METHOD STATEMENT) AND 11 (DRAINAGE) OF PLANNING PERMISSION 05/1474 FOR MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT

Applicant: MODUS COROVEST LTD & NEWPORT CITY COUNCIL

hmm, Pemmaen Wharf -- is that where the SDR turns south here (http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=51.574382,-2.983732&spn=0.00234,0.004163&t=k&om=1)?

That amount of apts as got to be at least 10 storeys, probably around 145/16 like you said based on the size of the plot.

hmm, Pemmaen Wharf -- is that where the SDR turns south here (http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=51.574382,-2.983732&spn=0.00234,0.004163&t=k&om=1)?

I believe so yes, that little stub of road north of the SDR is definitely Church St.

That amount of apts as got to be at least 10 storeys, probably around 15/16 like you said based on the size of the plot.
Oddly this area is shown as green space in the Newport Unlimited pictures I've seen of the Old Town Dock area, but I guess the landowners think differently! Good on them!!:cheers:

Is it possible to put the 3d models into a normal skyline photograph like this one? It'd probably look better than just photoshopping the drawings and renders of projects into the pic.

I guess I could try doing that, but my models aren't as accurate as I'd like, and the colours are all wrong!

Here's the picture anyway:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/367265155_231f182b16.jpg
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/46147180@N00/367265155/):lol:

Is City Spires going to 100 metres tall?

Is City Spires going to 100 metres tall?
I think the current best guess is 100m, yes. We'll know for sure when Newport City Council publishes the detailed planning application.

There isn't a 100m building in Wales, is there? I like the sound of a race between the 3 biggest cities to reach 100 metres.

There isn't a 100m building in Wales, is there? I like the sound of a race between the 3 biggest cities to reach 100 metres.
You're right - there isn't yet. Any one of Cardiff's Glass Needle, Swansea's Meridian Quay or Newport's City Spires will be the first, and then depending on their actual heights there will be at least three. 2010 will be a good year!

If we could have the tallest in Wales, just briefly, it would be some achievment for a small city. At the moment, there are only a handful of 100 metre buildings in the whole of the British Isles, outside London, so Newport can definately punch above its weight in the coming years.