University of Wales, Newport still demanded more evidence before committing to further talks and in November 2012, Leighton Andrews withdrew a consultation on plans to force a merger. The University opened a new £35 million campus in Newport's City Centre formally on 10 January 2011. The project was a collaboration between the University, Newport City Council and the Welsh Assembly Government operating through Newport Unlimited, the urban regeneration company for the City. The campus is situated on the east bank of the River Usk in the City Centre and it was the first phase of an intended £50m development for the University. It housed
Newport City Council Newport City Council Newport City Council (Welsh: C"yngor Dinas Casnewydd") is the governing body for the city of Newport, one of the subdivisions of Wales within the United Kingdom. It consists of 50 councillors, representing the city's 20 wards. From the 2008 election until 2012 no party had an overall majority of councillors so the council was controlled jointly by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats with the Conservatives' Matthew Evans as council leader. For decades previously it had been controlled by the Labour Party. In the 2012 elections the Labour Party regained control with an overall majority. Elections usually take