Newport council's prayers answered by Friars Walk shopping centre

摘要

In November 2015, Friars Walk, a 390,000 sq ft shopping centre will open in Newport - a quarter of a century after developers walked away, saying development of the South Wales city just didn't stack up, Newport still has its problems. Shoppers go to Cardiff for luxurious purchases and to Cwmbran for convenience. But what was most worrying Newport City councillors was that each time a national multiple shop closed down in Newport, they relocated to the newly-extended Spytty Retail Park, south of the city. Councillors felt they could no longer bear the haemorrhage of shops and shoppers. In 2011, the council appointed Queensberry Real Estate to be its partner to develop Friars Walk, The original plan was for the council to guarantee bank loans that Queensberry secured, But even that was taking too long, In November 2013, the council voted unanimously, bar one dissenting voice, to go directly to Prudential Borrowing, the source of government funding for local authorities' capital projects, to borrow £90m to start construction.