HOPE FOR CAMBRIAN CENTRE

A supermarket could re-open on the site of a former shopping centre in Newport that had been due for a £90m facelift.

A plan to demolish the Cambrian Centre to build shops and a 100-metre tower was scrapped last year when developer Modus went into administration. New owners Scarborough Development Group are now considering building a supermarket on the land, believing it is more economically viable.

There have been plans to regenerate Cambrian Centre going back to 2004. Mark Jackson, managing director at Scarborough Development, said: "The food store market is understandably proving to be one of the more robust in this recession, and is a great sector in which to be investing and in which to found our new business." The Cambrian Centre used to house a Somerfield supermarket before it was closed down to pave the way for regeneration.

Welcoming the news of the acquisition Robert Carew- Chaston, director of Newport- based Hutchings & Thomas Chartered Surveyors told Wales Online :

“I’m keen to know more about Scarborough Development Group’s plans for Newport but on the face of it this is fantastic news for our city. This could well be the first sign that the private sector is now ready to act and get back into the marketplace and take up what are in the case of the city of Newport ‘oven ready’ development sites such as the one worked up by Modus for the centre of Newport."

Rosemary Butler AM stated

"I was ...glad to hear that the Modus subsidiary company which originally set out to develop the Cambrian site, has now been acquired by the Scarborough Development Group. That's another piece of good news and I hope that the Friars Walk redevelopment will also get back on track . All this, as well as the Ryder Cup in October, means that Newport is still very much on the map."

NEW SUPERSTORE CONSTRUCTION STARTS

Work is under way at the site of Sainsbury's landmark 'Gateway to Wales' in Crindau.

The new superstore will be just two minutes from the M4 with its own designated slip road linking the dual carriageway (Heidenheim Drive) with the site. Sainsbury's acquired the former Gas Works site from the National Grid in April 2008.

A new bridged road access is being built from the A4042 Heidenhiem Drive to connect with a new roundabout on Albany Street.

This new access from the A4042 will serve the Sainsbury’s store and the wider Crindau area. A dedicated access route to the store is formed from this roundabout. An 8 pump petrol filling station (PFS) complete with jet and car wash is located from a mini roundabout on the access road. The access to the customer car park passes through a box culvert bridge to face the main entrance elevation to the store.

The store will comprise the following:

● A sales area of 7063 sq m incorporating general merchandise and food sales

● Back of house facilities extending the full length of the store with general goods delivery at one end and goods on line (GOL) at the other

● The main entrance lobby facing on to the car park

● Public WC and baby change facilities located near the John Sainsbury's Restaurant (JSR) - A new Goods Online delivery facility to serve the surrounding area is also provided in a dedicated service enclosure. - In total 670 parking bays are provided including 29 disabled bays and 28 parent & child bays all with safe and easy access to the store.

SOMERTON 'TARDIS' SAVED BY FUNDING

It may not look like much, but the crumbling former Police Box in Somerton is much loved by the locals, who say it has fallen into disrepair due to lack of money to repair it's damaged concrete walls.

Help is now at hand for what's known locally as 'The Tardis' thanks for a £10,500 Cadw grant to contribute towards it's 'regeneration'.

The RASCAL centre in Somerton have been trying to raise money to repair the building and have recieved the boost as part of a dozen other conservation projects sharing £410,000 in Welsh assembly cash.

Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones, said: "The range of buildings from this famous telephone box to a school and stables shows the rich variety of heritage sites we have in Wales and the range of sites that Cadw helps preserve.

The old police box is currently fenced off for safety reasons."These grant offers will ensure these important buildings are restored and maintained for the enjoyment of future generations."

Deborah Clark of the Regeneration Association Somerton Community at Large (Rascal), who made the application for the grant, said: "We're delighted to receive this money which will help restore and maintain this very popular local landmark.

"Everyone from this community loves this telephone box as do many people from further afield and we will now be able to ensure future generations can enjoy it too."



Paul Heaney

CITY CENTRE RETAIL SCHEME COULD BE BACK ON THIS SUMMER

The leader of Newport Council says a new developer to replace the ill-fated ‘friar’s walk’ in the city centre could be appointed this summer.

Speaking at the launch of the Newport 2010 festival, Councillor Evans explained that the compulsory purchase of property and land in John Frost Square should be completed by the end of march, paving the way to appoint a new retail developed a few months later.

“March will be the milestone for the compulsorypurchase” said the council leader.
“There is a lot of developer interest already and they’re looking at plans. We’re looking at hopefully getting a developer in towards the end of the summer”.

When questioned whether any new plans would be of a smaller scale, Mr Evans was in no doubt.

“It will be the same scale of development. People deserve to have something of that size. Newport needs a big centre, it’s no good having a tiny little development down there. We’ve got the area, we've got the population, we’ve got the infrastructure and we’ve got the car parks all ready to go.”

On a day that seen a big push to promote Newport’s features, assets and potential, the council clearly see no reason to dwell on the ‘Centre for Cities’ think tank report published earlier this week that see the outlook as ‘tough’ for this year’s Ryder Cup City.

CITY COUNCIL IN DISPUTE WITH ICELAND FOODS

Newport City Council could be faced with a difficult and costly dispute following a decision by Iceland Foods to challenge (via judicial review) the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of two of its stores in the Austin Friars area of the city centre. The CPO was originally served in 2007.

The Cabinet of the City Council stated it was very concerned about the basis of the challenge by Iceland Foods who appeared to be putting self interest before the opportunity to develop the city centre to the benefit of their own business and of all other businesses in the city centre. The Deputy Leader Ed Townsend stated that he hoped that Iceland would come to the table and work with Council officers who could facilitate the identification of a suitable alternative site near the original premises. It was confirmed that under the terms of the CPO, Iceland Foods would be subject to compensation for losses.

Iceland Foods contend that the decision to proceed with the implementation of the CPO at the present time is “unlawful” because

• The Council is effectively acting ultra vires by using the CPO powers for a different purpose to that originally intended

• The Council has failed to reconsider the alternative proposals that they put forward at the original CPO Inquiry and has failed to have regard to their “Human Rights”.