DISCOUNT shopping chain Home Bargains has revealed major plans to expand its operations in Newport.

The retailer has submitted an application to build a much bigger branch in the Maesglas neighbourhood of the city.

The new store would include an outdoor garden centre area and a large car park with space for 175 vehicles.

Home Bargains already has a branch in Maesglas but it is proposing to knock this shop down and build the bigger store on the same site.

It has also applied to knock down several neighbouring units on the same patch of land - those premises have recently been occupied by a tile shop, a B&M bargains store, and clothing retailer Newlife - which only announced its own opening there around a year ago.

The plans for the bigger Home Bargains shop would also mean the demolition of the old Lidl supermarket, which is currently empty.

Lidl moved to a new location in Maesglas, on the site of the former Argus offices, during the pandemic.

Planning documents submitted to Newport City Council show Home Bargains' vision is for a "high quality, comprehensive development" which will "revitalise" the area and "aesthetically improve this currently unloved site".

The retailer also said the expansion would create full-time and part-time jobs.

Home Bargains claims a bigger store will "deliver a number of significant benefits to the local economy and residents of Newport", and there will be further job creation when the demolition and building work gets under way.

A storage centre for bikes will create the "promotion of green travel", and the construction will take place on a "re-use of [a] previously developed site".

A planning statement on behalf of the applicant said Home Bargains had "successfully" traded in the neighbourhood since 2007 but believes the retail park in Maesglas has become "outdated" and "does not reflect the needs of retailers in the current market".

The "high-quality" expansion scheme would "deliver an overall reduction in out-of-centre retail floorspace and revitalise an otherwise faltering retail location".

The project would also bring "substantial investment in Newport of more than £10 million that will ensure the delivery of a quality and modern retail building and site improvements".

The plans are available on the Newport City Council website under application reference 23/0091.