A proposal to create a modern campus for further education students in the city centre has been formally submitted for planning approval.
Newport City Council and Coleg Gwent are jointly applying for outline consent for a campus that will provide first-class further education facilities on the site of the present Newport Centre.
Planning permission has already been given for a new, state-of-the-art leisure centre, which will include swimming and other wellbeing facilities, on a key city centre brownfield site on the riverfront.
It is proposed that the college is built on the site of the current Newport Centre and the new application, which will be determined by the cross-party planning committee, also seeks permission to demolish the ageing building.
While the centre still provides health and fitness activities – and has also been used as a mass vaccination centre during the pandemic – the pool hall has been closed because it requires significant, unviable repairs.
When it is completed, Coleg Gwent’s city centre campus will form part of the Newport Knowledge Quarter (NKQ) joining the University of South Wales campus.
Following a successful application, work will continue to develop a full application for submission at a later date. After all necessary approvals are in place, the timescales for construction work will be confirmed.
