From indoor market stalls and shopping arcades to a museum and state-of-the-art leisure centre, Climate Change Minister Julie James has seen first-hand how £17m of Transforming Towns funding has been put to use in Newport.

Newport City Council has received the funding since 2018 through the Targeted Regeneration Investment (TRI) programme and the Transforming Towns (TT) programme.

During the visit, the Minister saw several projects first hand including:

• The new indoor market supported by a £2m TRI loan
• The Central Library and Museum where refurbishment work was completed in February thanks to £1.3m of TT funding
• Newport Leisure and Wellbeing Centre supported by a £7m TT grant
• The Chartist Tower which has ben converted into a four-star hotel thanks to more than £600k of TRI funding
• The Grade II listed Market Arcade which has been redeveloped with £1.2m of TT grant funding

Speaking after the visit, Climate Change Minister Julie James said:

“It was great to visit Newport to see the positive impact funding has had on the city centre.

“We want town and city centres across Wales to be the beating heart of Welsh communities, where people can access services, shops, communal and cultural spaces.

“Regenerating our town centres is complex and will only happen if we have a joint understanding of the issues they face. These include the increase in out-of-town development reliant on private car transport, the growth in online shopping, and the withdrawal of essential services.

“Our Transforming Towns programme is designed to help reverse this decline, with £125 million over three years to reinvent towns across Wales.”