NEWPORT has become the most deprived authority in Wales – but “significant progress” is being made overall in the city with house building and jobs growth meeting targets, a new report shows.

Of Newport’s 95 neighbourhoods, 23 now rank as some of the most deprived in Wales, equating to 24 per cent of the authority, the biggest percentage of any in the country.

Two areas of Pill are the most deprived in the city, with one neighbourhood the 10th most deprived in Wales.

South Wales Argus:

Areas of Newport which feature among the most deprived in Wales

However, nearly 6,000 new homes have been built and jobs growth in the city is above targets set in the council’s Local Development Plan (LDP).

The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) measures deprivation levels primarily on income and employment, but also considers health, education, access to services, community safety, living environment and housing.

In 2014, there were 14 areas of Newport ranking among the 10 per cent most deprived in Wales.

Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf all had a higher percentage of areas among the most deprived than Newport.

Newport council’s annual monitoring report of its LDP says this represents “a significant negative shift” for the city and says it is a “concerning statistic”.

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“The 2019 WIMD demonstrates that Newport is unfortunately not making sufficient progress in trying to address deprivation,” it says.

“It is not necessarily true to say that Newport is becoming more deprived, but the evidence would suggest it is not making the same progress as other parts of Wales.”

But it also says jobs growth, house values and proportions of economically active people in Newport suggest the city is becoming “a more prosperous place to live”.

Cllr Deb Davies, cabinet member for sustainable development, told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday it was “especially of concern” that figures now showed Newport as “the most deprived authority in the whole of Wales”.

Cllr Davies said the council was “working with our corporate plan to address these issues”.

South Wales Argus:

A table showing comparing areas in Wales with the most levels of deprivation

“Despite the grave concerns I have discussed, there has been jobs growth in the last year and we have achieved our targets with house building,” she said.

“Significant progress has been made in Newport with many of the key aims and objectives of the LDP fulfilled.”

Council leader, Cllr Jane Mudd, said the council’s performance against its LDP targets had been “very good”.

She pointed to 94 per cent of housing developments being completed on brownfield sites, 1,200 affordable homes built and nearly 26-hectares of new employment land created as some of the key achievements.