The redevelopment of Friars Walk Shopping Centre in Newport, South Wales, is one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the city’s commercial property sector, with the project helping to attract a huge number of national and regional brands which will offer local consumers a wider choice when it comes to retail and leisure spending.
However, it is not only units in the immediate proximity of the development which are benefiting, as Newport-based M4 Property Consultants have reported a boom in demand for retail space in the city as a whole.
According to the firm’s Dan Smith, as the grand opening of the £90 million development draws closer, local property agents are noting an ever-increasing interest by major brands in taking up space within Newport. In fact, M4 Property Consultants hope that, by the time the scheme officially opens in November, the retail and leisure vacancy rates in the city centre will have fallen to their lowest rate since before the recession began.
Mr Smith says; “We have been very pleasantly surprised recently in the amount of enquiries we have been receiving for retail units in the city centre.
“We have recently been appointed to let at a unit on Commercial Street at a quoting rent of £35,000 pa and have, in just a few weeks, had an excellent number of interested parties make enquiries about the unit.
“In addition we have a number of interested parties in units we are marketing on Emlyn Walk on the edge of the Kingsway Shopping Centre – the majority of these parties have cited the imminent opening of Friars Walk as a reason why Newport is now a location they are considering.”
Yet while the “Friars Walk Effect” is certainly a major driving force behind this renewed interest in Newport as an area to invest in, it is by no means the only major scheme currently taking place in the city. Others include the redevelopment of the Kings Hotel into residential, office and retail space, the construction of a new Premier Inn property on Cambrian Road and, perhaps most pertinently, the regeneration of Station Quarter, which will combine retail and leisure units with a new gym geared towards improving the health of local residents.
In addition, Newport’s application for funding for a Business Improvement District (BID) was recently approved and since then a number of initiatives have been launched to attract new businesses and consumers to the city centre. Known as Newport Now, the BID is already making strong progress and this is expected to improve further as Friars Walk nears completion.
Mr Smith concludes; “The bid provides power to its members to make significant changes for themselves, not rely on others to do it for them – we believe it could prove crucial in helping Newport city centre to become inviting for residents, businesses and visitors alike.
“There is definitely a much more positive vibe around Newport at the moment as is demonstrated by the demand for shops.
“It is vital that Newport takes advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to transform the city centre and attract people back into it.”
Do you think Friars Walk will help to boost growth in Newport in the long term?
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