Newport's £90m Friars Walk shopping centre opens

Newport's flagship shopping development Friars Walk officially opened this morning with hundreds of shoppers turning out.

The developers Queensberry said that the development itself was not the answer to the regeneration of Newport it was a catalyst to investment.

The £90m project was given the go-ahead in 2012, and developers say it has created more than 1,200 jobs and will provide a boost to the local economy.

Friars Walk houses a department store, more than 30 shop units and restaurants, a six-screen cinema, a car park and a new bus station.

The scheme is one of the few retail destinations to open in the UK this year and will completely regenerate this area of South Wales say the developers.

It serves as the focal point of the £2 billion investment programme of regeneration underway in Newport, which has become one of Wales' fastest growing cities, and will position the city as the UK's 77th retail venue.