There was nothing intrinsically wrong with Spytty Park but Rodney Parade is just that much better in terms of all round enjoyment of football and most probably much improved for the players.

Gates of more than 3,000 at Rodney Parade appear to have silenced any doubters, if there were any and has set the ‘Port on course for a much brighter future-we hope.

Background discussions are sorting out the finances and going forward it looks good both for the Newport County as well  as the city.

One reason attendances are up is simple. People enjoy winning . Another is that the ground is that more accessible, comfortable and easier to get to than Spytty.

And this is not just good news for the club but the city’s economy  as a whole as people attending the games, both home and the valuable away supporters,  will more likely spend money both before and afterwards in the bars and restaurants, pubs and cafes in Newport and also in what shops we have managed to cling onto in the city centre.

Hopefully this regeneration for the club will encourage entrepreneurs to have another look at the city and see that there is money to me made here in Newport.

Now there are some that are riled by the Tescoisation of the UK but me I just see another Tesco opening as a demonstration of confidence by one of the UK’s largest and most successful retailers.

The new Tesco Express soon to come to  Clytha Park Road can only be good news for that part of the city. Sure there's already a convenience store just up the road on the other side but there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition.

The new Tesco will clean up what is a very unhappy looking corner of the city, provide short stay parking and dare I say it attract others to take up space on the road where there are a number of empty premises at present.

Further out of the city the news about the race track plans for Ebbw Vale are very welcome. The thought of multi million pound investment creating many thousands of new jobs has to be good news for everyone. And the economic spin offs from such a scheme would be enormous,

Meanwhile the climate for commercial property remains challenging but we did have a very interesting enquiry recently from  a national operator looking for storage and distribution space near the centre of Newport. They were attracted by the location of the city and also the imminent opening of the new link road from the M4 at Magor through to Newport via Llanwern.

We’ve shown them a site at Corporation Road for their proposed  scheme which, if it goes ahead, could create a number of local jobs and who knows may  act as a bit of a catalyst for others following in the wake of this well known and much admired operator currently feeling its way into Wales.