Newport Boundary Line | Newport Area Environment Group

In essence, the Group takes the view that, because the NPA uses (or at least were originally intending to use) the boundary line which is set out in the LDP as the so-called “Centre Line” , meaning the development boundary about the town as a defined ‘population centre’ in the Park, in order to determine such items as the relevant population, it is particularly important that this line is not limited to an arbitrary boundary, tightly drawn to enclose solely the existing and continguous residential housing development, and extendend to include only that contiguous land or sites allocated by the plan for future such development ; but rather that it should be drawn about the historic and modern physical and natural limits of the town, as an established geographic settlment pattern, enclosing all of the residential housing which comprises the population of our ancient commmunity.

Including in particular the Castle and the Church ?

We feel that this especially important as it is not just the NPA itself which, once approved, will look to the area inside the line as compromising the ‘settlment of Newport’, but our experience to-date has shown that many other bodies, both statutory and non-governmental, who are instrumental in enabling such matters as funding and provision of community and social facilities, also often simply look to this LDP designation, as the definiton of the settlement limits. Accordingly, we strongly feel that it is not only inadequate, but potentially very damaging, for the NPA to so limit the definitive size of the town.