BUSINESS leaders are being urged to attend a meeting tomorrow to learn about plans aimed at reviving the docklands area of Pill in Newport.

The Raven Group aims to create a community focus at the cattle market site, centred on a large supermarket and car park similar to the Tesco Extra at Harlech Retail Park.

The plan also includes a hotel and restaurant, a petrol station, residential flats and the re-location of the existing ambulance station and health clinic.

It could bring around 350 much-needed jobs to the area.

The meeting takes place at 3.30pm at the Irish Club in Commercial Road.

Local businessman Darren Stockton, whose Cambrian Fuelcard Services faces the proposed site, is urging the business community to attend the meeting.

"There are basically two options for the cattle market site - commercial development based on a supermarket or more residential housing," he said.

"Building houses would be a disaster for this area because the local economy is not strong enough and already suffers from associated problems such as unemployment and crime.

"The supermarket scheme will bring more business and money into the area as well as creating jobs, and for this reason I think we should all get behind it."

Support has also come from Newport's Chamber of Commerce, which - in association with Newport & Gwent Enterprise - acts as a landlord for the nearby Enterprise Park Industrial Estate.

Business development executive Kerys Sheppard said: "Any regeneration has to be better than what we have in the area at the moment. Although Newport has gained city status we're not getting as many companies to move in as we could.

"This has nothing to do with Newport's location but with the level of social infrastructure we can offer.

"At the moment, for example, workers have to go right into the town centre for lunch. "The Bannatyne gym is opening in January which will be a significant improvement but we need plenty more."

Although sited on the former cattle market, the development would respect the listed cattle byre fronting South Market Street, refurbishing it for use as a small office.

Tredegar Street would be semi-pedestrianised to provide a pleasant link between the supermarket and existing shops in Commercial Road.

The Raven Group claims that the store would become part of the Commercial Road district centre, so that shoppers using the new car park will be able to combine a visit to the supermarket with shopping in the area.