NEWS PORT NEWS IN BRIEF   CITY NEWS REGULARLY UPDATED                       Got a story or comment? e-mail: root@thisisnotgwent.co.uk

 

 

 

NEWPORT BUS APOLOGISE AFTER WEEKS OF POOR PERFORMANCE

 

Sept 22 - Newport Bus has apologised to customers after weeks of poor performance and a proliferation of social media stories from disgruntled passengers. The company blamed external factors for dreadful delays that have caused considerable inconvenience. However, unofficially staff refer to resource shortages as a significant factor. The statement says "Newport Transport are aware of the frustrations our customers have felt over the last few weeks with many of the reliability issues being caused by increased traffic volumes at the start of the new school year, combined with the number of major road works affecting the network, particularly around Tredegar Park and Caerleon Road. We thank our customers for their patience and continued loyalty whilst improvements are made to the road and rail network in Newport, and can assure you that all our staff, are equally as frustrated by the problems that the service faces at this time. We continue do to all that we can to overcome these problems."

 

NEW FOOTBRIDGE SET TO REPLACE DREADED SUBWAY

 

Sep 21 - Newport City Council has finally published plans for a landmark footbridge near the main railway station. The proposed bridge is planned to replace Devon Place subway and improve access to Newport railway station. Under the plans the bridge will connect Devon Place with Queensway.
Ramps will be included on either side of the main span to allow cyclists to walk their bikes over the footbridge.
"Installing the footbridge will encourage more pedestrians, including the mobility impaired, to cross the railway and enter Newport’s city centre, which will help to maintain Newport’s local economy," says a design and access statement, submitted by Capita Property and Infrastructure on behalf of the council. With a main span of 53 metres, it will be owned and maintained by Newport City Council. The bridge has been designed to be "an attractive open and inviting replacement" to the subway. The superstructure is planned to be painted 'moss green', while panels over the bridge will be light grey.

 

TOURISM NUMBERS UP

 

Sept 21 - Newport's tourism industry is still on an upward trend, according to the latest set of official statistics. STEAM, an independent economic activity model which is used by all councils in Wales, has produced the visitor report for 2017. It shows that the visitor economy in Newport has almost doubled since 2006 and the growth last year, compared with 2016, was 3.5 per cent meaning the industry had a total financial impact of £396.56 million per year.
In 2017, the number of overnight stays increased by more than four per cent - with around 750,000 people spending one or more nights - despite the number of hotel rooms staying the same.
This meant there was a good occupancy rate for hotels and other guest accommodation in Newport despite the limited amount available beyond the leading hotels. Integrated campaigns resulted in a high request ratio across the UK for the Newport's consumer marketing guide and the city has also been successfully attracting group travel operators, a growth market in Wales.
The Council claims key events such as the annual Newport Food Festival and regional events, including the UEFA Champions League final last summer, also helped to boost overnight stays and day visits.

 

MP EXPRESSES CONCERN AT POVERTY OF WORKING PEOPLE IN NEWPORT

 

Sept 21 - Jessica Morden, Newport East MP, has expressed concern that work is not paying for large numbers of Newport residents. She said "The UK Government is letting down working people in Newport East. Research from the Living Wage Foundation shows that in Newport East 30.1% of people in work earn less than they need to live on each day. This is above the Welsh average of 24.7%. Recent increases in the Government’s so-called National Living Wage have not tackled the persistent problem of low pay across Britain, particularly here in Wales where wages have not grown as fast as in other regions of the UK. Real wages are still lower now than they were in 2010, and millions of working families are set to be worse off under Universal Credit which replaces the benefits and tax credit system. More families are working harder to get by, but the rising costs of living and low paying work means that a job is no longer the reliable route out of poverty that it once was. "

 

NGD HOSTS US BANK

 

Sept 20 - Newport-based cloud services provider Next Generation Data (NGD) has completed a data hall for a major international bank.
Early last year the bank commenced consolidation of its UK data centre estate with a significant number of racks being relocated to NGD’s facility in an initial custom-designed 500kW hall. NGD’s commercial director, Simon Bearne: "NGD’s highly secure out of town location, scale and large power capacity are enabling the bank to continue growing their footprint with us, cost-effectively and with absolute confidence."

 

ARREST FOLLOWING ROBBERY

 

Sep 19 - Gwent POlice state "We recently appealed for information following the robbery of a 75 year old man in the Nash Grove area of Newport. Officers have been investigating and a 15 year old boy has now been arrested and released under investigation. " The robbery took place on August 29.