WE HAVE argued for quite some time that one of the key drivers of regeneration for Newport city centre should be to encourage city centre living.

So we welcome the details of the major investment which will mean just that.

Thanks to Newport City Council's success in bidding for a share of Welsh Government funding under the Vibrant and Viable Places scheme, several properties will be in line for a welcome refurbishment and a change of use.

Newport was awarded close to £15m under the scheme which will now unlock extra funding to transform a raft of buildings over the next three years.

The main focus will be to bring the often neglected upper floors of city centre buildings back into use.

Some of them will be used to create apartments, which is great news as city centre living is a great way of breathing life back into streets which are no longer the shopping hubs they once were.

We also believe that this is a great way of attracting small business back into the centre. Quite simply city centre dwellers need city centre shops and restaurants.

And, given that some of the money is to create space destined for business start up, this should tie in perfectly.

We look forward to some of the city's fine Victorian buildings being given a new lease of life.

It is this sort of investment which will make a real difference to the look and feel of our city.