Council faces more questions over market redevelopment deal

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Further questions have been asked about Newport Council’s investment in the redevelopment of the city’s indoor market.

Cllr Miqdad Al-Nuaimi asked the local authority’s leader to set out the repayment terms for a £6 million loan provided to the market’s developer, as well as any rental income the council was due to receive under a separate agreement.

The Stow Hill independent councillor, whose ward covers the city centre, also suggested “promises” about the market’s impact on Newport had not “materialised”.

The council does not run the market, but instead signed a 250-year lease with a developer.

Benefits

Newport Council’s leader, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, defended the investment in the market and said the redevelopment had brought wider benefits to the city.

In a joint written reply with Cllr James Clarke, the cabinet member for regeneration, he said the market had “delivered space to work, entertain, get fit, eat, drink, dance and release artistic potential”.

Reiterating the council’s previous statements on the market’s impact, the leader and cabinet member said the project was responsible for “breathing new life into the listed building and offering residents and visitors to the city a great place to meet, socialise and work”.

“It has also helped some businesses who are at the start of their journey to establish a presence in Newport, with a number of former occupiers having taken up larger space elsewhere in the city centre,” they said.

Arcades

The two councillors also said the refurbishments of two city centre arcades and the opening of the Corn Exchange music venue “shows that High Street is becoming a destination for independent retail, food, music and other leisure opportunities, for Newport residents but also people from further afield who are hearing how great facilities such as the Indoor Market are”.

Recently, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was told the city council had received money by way of interest payments” on the £6 million loan, which is due to be redeemed in February 2026.

However, no rental income payments had been made to the council, it confirmed.

Those disclosures followed calls from a Conservative councillor for more “transparency” regarding the council’s investment in the project.