NEWPORT council could start the ball rolling on a new body to take forward a taskforce's plans to revitalise Newport.

Senior councillors in the Labour administration will be asked to approve the participation of Newport council in a new Newport Economic Network which will work on ideas from ReNewport.

A report tells cabinet members that the city is entering a ‘critical period’ and it is now more important than ever to ensure all parties involved in the regeneration of the city work together to deliver maximum benefits for communities.

The new body would have an executive board made up of representatives from key sectors and businesses alongside senior public service figures from the city council, Welsh Government and the University of South Wales.

It would complement the work being done in the Cardiff Capital City Region, of which Newport is a part, and will take forward the recommendations of the ReNewport report.

The network’s chair will be an ‘independent senior figure able to influence delivery of outcomes at the highest levels’, and there will be a number of so-called sector groups to co-ordinate activities and advise the executive board, covering issues such as retail, tourism, culture and the creative industries.

The report to cabinet proposes that a stakeholder group would meet every six months to keep ‘everyone engaged and informed’.

It says it is vital for the council to play a key role in the innovation company proposed by ReNewport, whose work is soon to come to an end.