NEWPORT city centre redevelopment unexpectedly became the subject of an article in the Washington Post last week – using Newport as an example of the effect of public-sector cuts on Britain.

The USA is facing the possibility of swingeing spending cuts and tax rises if President Obama and Republican lawmakers fail to reach a deal on the country’s budget soon.

The paper’s London bureau chief, Anthony Faiola, used Newport as an example of austerity Britain, describing the city’s shopping district as a “shadow of its former self”.

“Here in Newport, an old steel town of 145,000 people on the River Usk, the forces working against the British economy can be seen on the lightly traveled High Street,” Mr Faiola wrote.

It quotes Alan Edwards, owner of Vacara’s Fish and Chips and president of Newport Chamber of Trade, saying he wasn’t getting the footfall he once did.