29 September 2006

Newport gets top billing in heart of London

NEWPORT is taking centre stage in London this week (Wednesday Oct 4).

The city is show casing itself in the heart of London at an event, called Newport Unleashed, to be attended by key movers and shakers in both the private and public sectors.  

Among the speakers will be Ken Poole, Director, Price Waterhouse Coopers, who will give an overview of the City of Newport and what it can offer John Burrows, Chief Executive of Newport Unlimited will talk on Newport’s stunning £1bn investment programme and Matt Phillips, Managing Partner of Knight Frank, Cardiff, will speak on the office market in South East Wales.

Steve Hodgson, Head of the Shared service centre,  at Newport Celtic Springs Business Park will explain why the Prison service chose to locate its 500 job centre to Phoenix House, Newport.

The city’s £100m Celtic Springs Business Park, at Junction 28- M4, will unveil details of  latest developments on the a 45-acre park at the event staged in London’s exclusive Hanover Square.

The prestigious business park, which is being developed by AWG and Broadhall, is benefiting from the addition of a luxury, 120-bed Ramada Plaza hotel, a 100-place children’s nursery and a 35,000 office block.

Backers of the business park are hopeful that the £9m, three storey office development CS3000, which has the potential to generate 350 new jobs, will be of particular interest to the London-based property agents.

A brand new brochure, complete with bird’s eye view computer generated image of the entire Celtic Springs Business Park together with a detailed image of CS 3000, will be unveiled at the event.

Speaking on behalf of AWG and Broadhall Iain Logue, Operations Director at AWG Property, said: “The privately funded development of the speculative 35,000 sq ft CS 3000 office block is a solid and highly visible vote of confidence in the city of Newport and its future.”

Erryl Heath, Newport Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Employment, said: “Celtic Springs Business Park is a standard bearer for the rejuvenated City of Newport. The city is undergoing a £1bn programme of investment in regeneration which will ultimately see it standing shoulder to shoulder with the best in the land.

“Events such as the one in London are just what is needed to ensure that interest from all quarters, including City investors, in Newport, Britain’s newest city, is as keen as we can possibly make it.”

Robert Carew-Chaston, Chairman of joint marketing agents Hutchings & Thomas said: “Celtic Springs is a superb business park in a supreme location. The event in London offers us the perfect chance to get in front of key professionals in the property field and let them have precise information of what we have and what we can offer here in Newport.”

Matthew Phillips, Managing Partner of Knight Frank said: “CS 3000 is the only Grade A office development in the South Wales area, is ideally sited at Junction 28 of the M4 and as such should create quite a bit of interest.

“The provision of the luxury hotel, the children’s day nursery and other developments coming on stream at the business park make Celtic Springs  among the most desirable business park locations in the whole of the UK.”

Building work on the three storey CS 3000 ‘winged’ office block is due to be completed by summer 2007. The hotel, with conference centre, leisure complex and swimming pool and the children’s nursery, will be completed shortly afterwards.

The expansion of the unique, 45-acre business park, which attracts Tier Two regional selective assistance, is being brought forward by developers AWG property and Broadhall.