The Gym Group has opened to the public at Scarborough’s £30m commercial development at the Station Quarter in Newport, South Wales.

The Gym Group has signed a 15-year lease on a 15,000 sq ft unit.

Alongside this new letting, Scarborough has also created a high-quality public plaza to complement the existing retail and office space, which will provide a much improved pedestrian gateway from the train station to the city centre.

The plaza opened to the public in June, and a formal opening ceremony will be held in August.

This milestone in the delivery programme for Newport paves the way for commencing the second phase of the Station Quarter redevelopment. Following the success of Admiral House, which Scarborough sold for £20m to Global net-lease REIT, W.P. Carey in October 2014, the second phase will comprise a further 30,000 sq ft of office development with complementary leisure and retail on the ground floor and facing the plaza. Scarborough will be submitting a planning application for this next phase later this year.

Scarborough achieved planning consent in April 2012 for the first phase of the Station Quarter, its redevelopment of the former Cambrian Centre. This phase comprised the 80,644 sq ft office accommodation with the capacity to accommodate up to 1,200 staff, designed for Admiral, and 28,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, parking for 290 cars and a new public plaza.

Kate Howe, associate director, Scarborough Group, said: “This new letting and the creation of the public plaza demonstrates our commitment to the on-going transformation of the centre in Newport. Following the success of Admiral House and the severe shortage of quality office stock we are confident that there is demand for a high-quality office lead scheme in Newport.

“Newport City Council has continued to support our plans for the redevelopment of the Station Quarter which is further testament to the quality and importance of this scheme for Newport.”