Stubborn seagull delays £19.7 million mission by 40 days in Newport

Taxpayers have been left with an eye-watering bill after a stubborn seagull nesting on a demolition site refused to budge, ballooning project costs by nearly half a million.

The Newport Centre was previously one of the city’s main leisure locations for several decades.

However with a decrease of customers at the ‘aging’ site, the city council introduced plans to release the land so that Coleg Gwent could relocate to the site.

In the originally estimated £19.7 million project, they also detailed plans to build a lavish new leisure centre 100 metres away from the original site on Usk Way.

But when demolition of the Newport Centre began in April 2023, it was quickly brought to a screeching halt when a seagull refused to budge from its nest.

The price tag of project has since ballooned by £460,000 after the bird stayed in its nest on the land for 40 days. 

A seagull, who refused to budge from a demolition site for 40 days has ballooned the price of a £19.7 million project by nearly half a million (stock image)

The Newport City Council plans would see the site of old leisure centre in Usk Way released to Coleg Gwent for a new campus and new state of the art leisure centre built 100 metres away (pictured: the Newport Centre)

The plans to tear down the old venue, which hosted some of music’s biggest name’s such as David Bowie and Elton John, has since been completed.

Replacing the site is a lavish new. further education campus which will be used by Coleg Gwent.

The proposed ‘Newport Knowledge Centre’, which is a separate project, comes with an estimated price tag of £90 million.

It will be built to accommodate 2,000 students and 200 staff daily, in the hopes of bringing more people to the city centre.

The city council also aims to build a new leisure and well being centre on the opposite side of Usk river.

The site – which is currently vacant brownfield – will be the new home of a new state of the art hub, which aims to be both energy efficient and flexible for attendees.

Not only will the new building have a conventional pool, it will also boast a fitness studio, roof garden, an on-site café, bike storage facilities and better accessibility. 

The overspending incurred in the delayed demolition due to the seagull will be shared between Coleg Gwent and the councils, according to Newport council. 

A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: ‘As reported in the cabinet papers, demolition of the former leisure centre was delayed by 40 working days due to a nesting gull. 

‘Although costs are still being finalised, there is a cost sharing agreement in place with Coleg Gwent.

‘We are focussed on delivering the new leisure and wellbeing centre for Newport. With its fantastic new facilities, including a modern leisure pool and lots of space for communities and activities, it will provide a space for everyone in our city, and visitors, to relax, enjoy themselves and so much more.

‘As possibly the first net-zero and all-electric facility in the UK, enabling works on-site are well underway, with building work expected to begin very soon. This work should take around 18 months.’