Newport murals could be moved from Old Green Roundabout

Old Green Roundabout is set to be overhauled as part of plans to improve public transport links in the city and ease congestion on the busy M4 corridor, which thousands of commuters use each day.

The new project could see the roundabout replaced by a more straightforward junction that supporters believe will provide better connections to the city's bus and railway stations, encouraging more people to travel those ways instead of taking the car.

But such a large redevelopment will put the future of a series of murals under threat.

The artworks currently adorn the pedestrian tunnels which weave under the junction and also decorate the inside of the roundabout itself.

Artist's impression of the new layout of Old Green Roundabout in Newport. (Image: Newport City Council)

Some pay tribute to Newport's proud industrial and maritime history, while others remember the city centre's old market traders and the throngs of people who shopped there.

As well as a fitting tribute to the then-town's might during the Industrial Revolution, the murals are also humorous - such as the section showing two dogs fighting over a string of sausages outside a butcher's shop.

But the the vision for the new junction means the murals will have to be moved or possibly demolished.

This isn't the first time planned redevelopment in Newport has threatened a series of murals. In 2013 Newport City Council caused uproar when it demolished an iconic Chartist mural in John Frost Square to make way for Friars Walk.

This time, the council has said it is "consider(ering) the long-term opportunities for the murals", and has invited members of the public to have their say on the future of the artwork in a consultation on the Old Green Roundabout plans.

"We need to consider the long-term opportunities for the murals which have an important cultural value and significance to the city," Newport City Council said in the consultation documents.

"It may be possible to relocate or replicate some of the murals currently located at Old Green.

"You have an opportunity to have your say on the murals as part of the questionnaire for this consultation."

Archive photo of the murals being created at Old Green Roundabout in Newport. (Image: South Wales Argus)

The council has also proposed new locations for the murals, though anyone taking the questionnaire is free to propose an alternative idea.

The market murals could be rehomed in the recently refurbished Market Arcade or in Newport Indoor Market, and the entrance space of the latter could also be the new site of the mural portraying the florist shop.

The "scenes from the dockside" murals, meanwhile, could potentially be relocated to the riverfront area.

But scenes of the railway and canal are much larger, posing a "probably challenge".

The council, however, has proposed moving those artworks "north of the railway".