The new attraction, which is being built on land next to the University of South Wales’ building on Usk Way, will replace the former Newport Centre as the council’s main leisure destination in the city centre. Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, who leads Newport City Council, said work was paused so archaeologists could record the findings, but the issue was “resolved as quickly as possible”. Responding to a question from Cllr Ray Mogford, seeking an update on the leisure centre project, Cllr Batrouni said construction is “now anticipated to be completed at the end of the year”. The new leisure centre under construction in Newport, pictured in May 2026. Credit: LDRSA scrutiny committee report describes construction as “progressing well, with the building visibly taking shape on site”. But the completion date for construction has been pushed back to the end of December, when compared with a previous committee report – from six months earlier – which stated building works were due to finish by the end of October.