Jun 5 2007
Plans to create a £1 billion sustainable, mixed use development, on the 600-acre former ‘heavy end’ site at Llanwern steelworks have been given outline planning consent by the council.
The St Modwen development includes housing, office and industrial space, public open space and a range of community facilities.
Redevelopment of this site, which was formerly part of Corus’ steelworks site, is expected to take 20 years to complete.
It will include 4,000 new homes, catering for all sections of the housing market, with 20 per cent of the total being “affordable” homes and the balance ranging from apartments to large detached houses.
There will also be approximately 1.5m sq ft of office, factory and warehouse space. The initial phase of the infrastructure works should commence later this year with the first dwellings and employment buildings being developed next year.
Facilities being provided by St Modwen for the community will include two new schools, lakes and other open spaces and a park and ride facility to serve a new railway station. Substantial new sports and play areas will be created, together with a multi-purpose community centre, and a District Centre with local shops, café bars and restaurants.
Construction of the scheme and on-site employment space will generate approximately 6,000 new jobs, nearly as many as the steelworks in its heyday.
At the heart of the new development will be three inter-connected lakes and a substantial park area that would be available for the enjoyment of people living in the wider area as well as residents. A network of greenways will connect this central park to the new neighbourhoods.
The lakes and greenways are part of an innovative strategy of dealing with the risk of potential tidal flooding on the site, to ensure that homes and businesses are secure from flooding and that there is no adverse impact on properties elsewhere in the area. The flood alleviation measures proposed in the planning application have been reviewed and approved by the Environment Agency for Wales and are capable of dealing with a major flood event.
St Modwen Properties is a regeneration specialist which focuses on town centre regeneration; partnering industry in its restructuring; brown-field land renewal; and restoring heritage
Redevelopment of this site, which lies just three miles east of Newport and close to the M4 Motorway, has been recognised as one of the main regeneration opportunities in Wales, with specific mention of the site’s ability and capacity to create a comprehensive and meaningful contribution to Newport, being in the Wales Spatial Strategy.
Anthony Glossop, chairman of St Modwen, said:
“I am delighted by the support which Newport City Council has shown for our exciting scheme. Together with Coed Darcy, St Modwen will now be carrying out the two largest regeneration schemes in Wales, which will take up to 20 years to complete, but will eventually provide 8,000 new homes in two entirely new communities, and see the creation of some 10,000 new jobs in areas badly hit by the demise of traditional industries.”
Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport city council, added:
“The St Modwen development at Llanwern is symbolic of how far this city has come in the past few years. A site which was subject to such major job losses in 2001 is now one of major opportunity on one of the largest brown-field development sites in England or Wales. The enormous scale of the proposals – thousands of new homes and jobs – is yet more evidence of investors’ confidence in Newport as a city of opportunity and reinvention.”