Town could become tourist hub

Newport could become the county's latest tourist hub if plans for a new heritage centre in the town are given the go-ahead.

As one of the county's largest towns, Newport has no tourist information office and no building to house and display its historical past.

But all that could be about to change after town councillors vowed to find a home for Newport's treasures, complete with a volunteer-led tourist office.

At Wednesday night's meeting of Newport Town Council, members agreed to look at the feasibility of setting up a tourist hub.

Councillor Tim Nelson, chairman of the leisure and environmental services committee, said he would lead the way in gathering information.

He said: "Tourism is a big thing economically for a town like Newport and we already have tourists from various places, but nowhere they can go for information.

"There is going to be money spent on regenerating the canal and the high street is going to be made a more pleasant place to be than it is today.

"We don't have a museum, but many artefacts that would grace a museum could make the town a tourist attraction. There are many visitors to places like Bridgnorth and we need a venue to display our town.

"I have had discussions with the History Society and they are very keen over getting volunteer staff and having a tourist information centre. Several other organisations in the town, such as the Civic Society and the Rotary have also expressed an interest in providing volunteers."

Councillor Nelson added the lease on one of the oldest building in Newport, behind the Guildhall, was up for renewal in 2011 and said this could provide a suitable venue.

Councillor Adam Stanton backed the idea and said: "It has been 20 years since the last one closed on St Mary's Street and it's something that has been lacking in the town."

By Jason Lavan