John Burrows has taken up the reins as chief executive of Newport Unlimited - the urban regeneration company working on the redevelopment of the city of Newport.

Newport Unlimited is a partnership between the Welsh Assembly Government, the Welsh Development Agency and Newport City Council to transform the fortunes of Newport by turning it into a thriving centre for business, shopping, leisure and living.

Mr Burrows has extensive experience of handling large scale regeneration programmes, having been executive director for regional development for the Welsh Development Agency, English Partnerships' regional director for South West England, interim chief executive of the Walsall Urban Regeneration Company in the West Midlands and a former local authority chief executive.

Mr Burrows has worked with Newport Unlimited as development director on secondment from the WDA and, immediately prior to this, he headed up the Wales Millennium Centre Company in Cardiff Bay during the construction of the £110m international centre for performing arts.

He said: "Newport is undergoing an exciting transformation, the next 18 months of which will be absolutely critical. "The regeneration is gathering momentum as more and more projects are moving from the drawing board to having a physical presence on site. "This year alone, we will see the construction of a £5m foot and cycle bridge across the River Usk, the completion of multi-million pound offices at George Street, start of work on both the £20m residential development at Old Town Dock and the £20m refurbishment of the Kingsway Centre. "I am delighted to be working on such an exciting project that is going to inject a real vitality into the city and make a real difference not only to Newport but also to the whole of East South Wales."

Newport Unlimited is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of three master plans which detail the blueprint for the city's regeneration. Over the next five years alone, Newport Unlimited will be rolling out more than 60 projects in 15 priority areas, which will attract well over £500m in private sector investment and create 5,000 new jobs.

Grant Watson, chairman of Newport Unlimited, said: "John will be able to build on the excellent foundations laid by Graham Moore. "His background, experience and expertise are second to none, and he is the perfect person to drive the city's exciting renaissance programme forward." Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport City Council, said: "The city council congratulates John Burrows on his appointment and looks forward to building on the successful partnership that we have established with Newport Unlimited to take forward the city's regeneration." John Burrows has been appointed following the retirement of previous chief executive, Graham Moore.