In response and to support the South Wales Argus’ recently launched campaign to highlight and promote the best of Newport, Joanna Ingles, Associate and Licensed Conveyancer, provides her thoughts on why her hometown and place of work is a city on the up.
Joanna’s Thoughts on Living and Working in Newport
When we opened our Newport office on Bridge Street in 2007, we did so to have a presence in the city and to provide local clients with the opportunity to meet with our team face-to-face.
We had committed to opening the office just before the credit crunch in 2008 and we knew it would be a challenging period. The housing market went into turmoil, but the economy is cyclical and we were able to proceed due to the demand for the other personal and business legal services we provide knowing that the storm would pass.
Almost a decade later, the change in both the economy and the city of Newport is equally dramatic. There is a newly found vibrancy throughout the city.
In the city centre the much talked about regeneration projects have started to have the anticipated positive impact on the local economy and closer to our offices, the redevelopment of the train station has increased Newport’s popularity with those choosing to live in the city and work further afield in Cardiff and Bristol.
The housing market in and around Newport reflects this change. We have built and developed strong working relationships with local and national estate agents with offices in the city and many of the homebuilders who are developing within the locality - and they are all reporting increased interest in the properties they are selling.
We can see from the conveyancing clients we are dealing with in our Newport office that more homeowners from outside the city are choosing to move to Newport.
On a personal note, Newport is now very much more family-friendly in terms of places to go, variety of shops and places to eat. All three were previously quite restricted and I would often have to travel outside of the city but now we have a choice of where to go within Newport which is great.
Our Newport Branch is #BackingNewport
If you would like to get behind the South Wales Argus’ campaign which aims to highlight and promote the best of Newport and what it has to offer. Show your support for your local community and share your story on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #BackingNewport.
(main image – cropped: Owain under CC BY-SA 3.0)
