An impression of Neath's centre
The first signs of Neath town centre's £80m shopping regeneration will be seen this week.
Contractors will begin clearing the trees and shrubs fronting the old civic centre building in the Welsh town. The demolition of the civic centre building is due to start at the beginning of April.
Gareth Nutt, head of property and regeneration at Neath Port Talbot Council said: "This is essential work to prepare for the major project in Neath and we want to keep the public informed of what we are doing.
Simons Developments were appointed in November 2007 to run the project. Among the developments being undertaken by the company are Trinity Walk, Wakefield, Marriots Close, Whitney, Charles Street Dorchester and St Catherine's Walk, Carmarthen.
The development site is centred on the old civic centre in Neath and the multi-storey car park and will include 220,000 sq ft of retail space.
There will also be new car parking with room for more than 800 vehicles and a unique guidance system - the first of its kind in Britain - to help shoppers find free space.
The centre piece of the development will be a brand new state of the art civic space including the potential to house the museum and public library. The developers are also hoping to bring forward a café quarter centred around the site at the rear of the Boots store.
