NEWPORT is set to be a city of shoppers and students by 2015, according to a new vision of the future revealed yesterday.

The policy blueprint proposes that in ten years' time Newport will have a population of 150,000, the number of students will have doubled and the city will be placed in the top 70 shopping centres in the UK.

Chris Freegard, managing director of Newport city council, revealed the community strategy entitled Newport - Building Our Future Together at a meeting of councillors yesterday.

The "vision" was drawn up by the council, Gwent Police, the University of Wales, Newport, the Local Health Board, Newport Unlimited and various community partners.

The key objectives of the masterplan include pushing ahead with the £200m regeneration of the city centre and improving the retail environment to lift Newport from 106th to 70th place in the national shopping league.

It also highlights redeveloping car parks, regenerating the riverside, and doubling the number of students at the city's university as a priority.

The strategy was put together following business questionnaires, business and community conferences, meetings with the Young People's Council, the citizens' panel, Newport Matters, a dedicated website and the local media.

Ensuring better transport links is at the heart of the vision, with the improvement of rail links to the Valleys, London and the South East, and completion of the M4 relief road a key component of the plan.

The wide-ranging strategy also includes ambitious aims to create more than 15,000 new jobs, reduce teenage pregnancies, allow more older people to live independent lives at home, and promote a greener and more inclusive city.

Councillor Bob Bright, chairman of the partnership and leader of the city council, said: "The next ten years will be an exciting time for Newport.

"We will be building on our status as Wales' newest city and making sure that, as we grow and develop, the quality of life of residents will continue to improve."

Councillors yesterday approved the vision, but opposition members later accused the leading Labour party of hypocrisy.

In particular, Stow Hill councillor Peter Davies said the vision to encourage more older people to live in their own homes was not in line with the current controversial consideration about whether to axe Meals on Wheels.