A new hotel is opening in Newport city centre next month - in the building which had originally being earmarked as a Premier Inn before they pulled out.

Newport Central Hotel by Hotel 55, which will have 62 bedrooms, a bar, cafe and restaurant, will be run by husband and wife team Simon and Jessica Marsh on behalf of the building's owners, Richard Hayward Properties.

The new hotel, in the grade II listed former Yates' wine bar building on the corner of High Street and Queensway, will create about 15 jobs, which could double when the cafe, bar and restaurant are up and running.

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The Argus was invited along for a sneak peek of what the hotel will look like once open and Jessica Marsh said the couple, who are property investors from Gloucestershire and who have previously been involved with serviced accommodation, were very excited to be opening in Newport city centre.

She said: "We are hoping to be open in time for the Wales v England Six Nations rugby game on February 23. It is all coming together well.

"This hotel will be a new concept for this area. It will be sort of a hybrid between a hotel and serviced accommodation. It will be very user friendly and we will be using an app for checking in with a QR code which can be used as a key for access to the hotel. There will also be a reception and the usual checking in procedure. There will be a manned 24-hour customer service phone line for example. It is about making things easy for the guests."

She said they had already been in talks with some of the big businesses in the area about how they could use the hotel and its facilities to add to their offers.

Richard Hayward, of Richard Hayward Properties, which developed and own the building, said finishing touches were being made at the moment ahead of opening.

"Jessica is really looking forward to opening the hotel. There is a shortage of rooms in the area and she sees this as a massive opportunity."

Premier Inn walked away from the scheme in August 2017, following a dispute over noise between Richard Hayward Properties and the owners of nearby nightclubs.

Planning permission was granted for a hotel in 2012 but the project was hit by multiple delays, after an original planned opening date of 2015.

Castleton-based developer Richard Hayward Properties, which reportedly spent £1.4m buying the site and clearing asbestos from the Grade II listed building, was handed a £450,000 Welsh Government Vibrant and Viable Places grant towards work at the site.