The year started with a bang of demolition as the city’s old car park was blown up to make way for the Friars Walk scheme.

And to slightly rephrase a Newtonian saying, what comes down must go up, so before long we should start to see the beginnings of what surely will be the bright new future for the city of Newport.

All things being considered it’s been a very promising start all round to the New Year in this part of the World.

But things really do have to get worse before they get better. The city centre is undergoing a transformation like no other. You, and I do, must feel for the tenants on Austin Friars and Upper Dock Street whose trade will surely have been and continue to be badly affected with all the construction work going on around and about.

However the new bus station is now, finally, built and in operation and I’m told the re introduction of buses coming through the city is having a positive impact on businesses. Passengers passing by shops are looking in windows and after alighting are coming back to shop. A bit like the old days in Newport.

All the same Newport simply must keep hold of all the occupiers that we have in the centre to really ensure that the new retail scheme is a success.

We have seen positive news stories this month with rising employment rates, reports of house prices and sales on the up which in turn, it’s anticipated, will drag the commercial property market along with it.

The office sector in the region has finally seen some activity, with very few deals undertaken in the past couple of years we are dealing with some great new requirements in Newport, perhaps this is the ‘Admiral Factor’ which we have been mentioning for many a month.

The Newport City Summit being staged in the city today at the University of South Wales’ Newport Campus will bring together all those involved in helping deliver a positive future for the city. The Newport City Summit will hear from the likes of Newport City Council leader Bob Bright, Ian Edwards the chief operating officer at Celtic Manor Resort and the chairman of the Newport Taskforce Simon Gibson - so some really big hitters there,

The summit will explore how best to exploit opportunities that are coming our way such as the real coup, the autumn arrival of the NATO summit at Celtic Manor and the equally exciting plans in place for the construction of the new Wales International Convention Centre also at Celtic Manor

Up the ‘Port