The Newport Summit - A positive first step toward the future

The Newport Summit [ #newportsummit ] was a resounding success, and after the flag-waving was done, the message to delegates was 'now let's go and make it happen'. But if we are really going to push for promotion for the city of Newport, let's not forget the importance of a strong defence.

The reNEWPORT report - The City of Newport - On the Rise - was released in December to widespread approval and excitement, certainly from the city's business community, if not entirely by the city's council elders.

Here at last was a vision of the future we could get behind. What surprised most was; that this was a vision of extraordinary depth and perception, flagging opportunities to build a more modern, successful, sustainable and progressive city, with a foundation firmly set in technology.

I've long complained that Newport has never in my lifetime had a vision to push towards. While cities such as Bristol win international awards for the way they have set, pursued and then achieved their vision, Newport has dithered, and in dithering it has declined. Without a vision, it lacked a strategy, and all it has delivered is a series of disconnected, directionless and all-too-often unsuccessful tactics based on the premise that 'if you build it, they will come'.

That premise was firmly tossed aside at The Newport Summit by the key speaker Simon Gibson, Chairman of the reNEWPORT Task Force. In no uncertain terms he explained how putting the cart before the horse was the wrong thing to do. Mr Gibson highlighted that there was a tendency in Wales to build 'techniums that become emptyums'. This is a lesson that Newport City Council desperately needs to learn. In reality it should have learned this lesson decades ago.

The idea of 'vision' is critical to the future of Newport. As the success and positivity on display at the Newport Summit showed, the movers and shakers of Newport have certainly bought into the vision of a high-tech future city. We now need to set the strategy to achieve that vision, and from the strategy we can then develop the tactics to deliver the strategy, with every decision made with an eye on the eventual goal.

Simon Gibson, and subsequently Simon Powell (Chief Executive of EYSYS) put forward an excellent business case for the focus on high-tech industries. These are indeed rich fields for which Newport is well set up to tap into. Mr Gibson stressed that we need to focus on development of Intellectual Property and to build industry that puts real money into the pockets of the people of Newport - "If we put Intellectual Property first, buildings will follow". In describing the Friars Walk development as 'an enhancement to the city centre', he put our £90 million shopping gamble* into context. New shops will not deliver prosperity. They will merely feed off it when it eventually arrives.

Pushing for promotion
So at last Newport has a vision, and with the breaking news that the Welsh Assembly Government has confirmed financial support, it looks like the city is really going to go for it.

However, as any football manager knows, if you're pushing for promotion to a higher league, strikers alone won't do it for you. You need an equally strong midfield and defence.

On the long road to delivering the reNEWPORT vision we will inevitably face speed bumps, collapsed bridges, obstacles and disappointments. It would be foolish to suppose otherwise. The delegates from The Newport Summit left the University campus with an optimistic spring in their collective step, but if we really are to 'go and make it happen', it is vital that we are robust in our planning, and that we do whatever we can to AtWCS (Avoid the Worst Case Scenario). This is a motto I try and live my life by - Imagine what could go wrong, and do your best to ensure it doesn't.

I heard lots of great stuff at The Newport Summit and we should now expect to see some substance emerging about how we move forward. But equally I would like to hear some detail on how we are working to ensure our planning is robust. Disappointments will be demoralising when they arrive, doubly so if we are kicking ourselves that 'we didn't see that coming'.

We also need to be reassured that Newport City Council is firmly committed to the project. Council Leader Bob Bright's initial dismissal of the reNEWPORT report ('we could all have written down those ideas') suggests that he may have opened today's event begrudgingly and isn't personally committed. Mr Bright seems transfixed only on the idea of building stuff, and when asked what part of Simon Gibson's presentation most excited him, I really wasn't surprised to hear him pick up on the opportunity to erect another building.

Newport City Council has a vital role to play here and it cannot and must not become an obstacle in itself. If Mr Bright isn't personally committed, we must rely on the rest of our elected council to show commitment that overrides him. And when the time comes for prospective councillors to knock our doors to canvass for our votes, we should make sure that we find out exactly where they stand with regards to this most important of projects. Only with a fully committed council on side can the city move forward effectively.

Finally, a job needs to be done to spread the message of optimism to the people of Newport and to ensure their commitment as well. We need to let ordinary people know that this is a project that is as much for them as it is for business. It is ultimately about making Newport a place fit for families. The city centre hasn't been family-friendly for a long time. We need to let the people know that the city centre of tomorrow will be a more vibrant, positive place to be and will not remain a no-go zone after 5.30pm. This project will deliver the wealth to fundamentally transform Newport into the place we all know it can be.

So that was The Newport Summit, an event that should definitely become an annual event and one I would suggest is expanded to include not just a summary and progress report, but also satellite events focussing on specific elements of the plan. If it does become an annual event, I strongly advise you make the effort to attend next year. If nothing else it is a great chance to collectively wave a flag with a heart filled with optimism instead of despair.

NOTES
Sign up for the newly opened reNEWPORT forums at http://your.renewport.co.uk/

*The only thing I disagreed with at The Newport Summit was when Will Godfrey, Chief Executive of Newport Council said of the £90 million loan to finance Friars Walk "Newport hasn't seen that sort of investment before." I'm sorry Mr Godfrey, but you will never convince me that a city loan of £90 million to pay for something nobody else will take a chance on is 'investment'. A gamble, yes. Investment, no.