WITH regards to the announcement of the forthcoming starting date for the building of Newport’s new leisure centre and the follow on construction of the new Coleg Gwent student campus and the pat-on-the-back comments which went with it .

A new modern leisure centre with exciting fun and equipment? We had one of those before it was deliberately destroyed in a act of vandalism.

The facts are there are close to three million students in the UK. A shade over 2,000 attend university in Newport compared to more than 10,000 2010. So we really don’t require any more new accommodation for students who don’t exist.

Win win for the city and win win for the contractors who will up and up their price as the projects unfold.

A bright future and a new era of prosperity?

How is that going to happen?

The new Newport Market is now a shadow of what it was when it first opened. It will soon become yet another exhibit on the Newport city centre ghost town tour.

Increased footfall bringing economic regeneration to the city? Whoever is of this opinion must have participated in the delight’s of Newport's newest, largest and most lucrative growth industry .

All we need now is for the ludicrous, totally un-thought out and ill-conceived Old Green Crossing project to go ahead for the final demise of Newport as we know it.

Roland Granville

Caerleon