The city of Newport in south Wales could soon have an exciting new food court, in which anyone setting up shop might want to buy a used shipping container.
Newport City Council is considering a planning application by the Yard Group, which already owns two food outlets in the Rogerstone area of the city, Wales Online reports.
The new food court would be located in the What! Store care park in the heart of the district, which lies in the north-west of the city.
Co-owner of the Yard Group Jordan Philips said: “Eventually what we'll have is a food court dominated by eight or nine different containers selling different cuisine from around the world.” He added that as many as four or five individual units might also be placed on site to add more variety.
Mr Philips suggested the scheme would help create a much-needed “community hub” for Rogerstone and also create jobs. It would come with indoor and outdoor seating and a bar. The plan is to bring in not just local trade, but also “attract people from all over different towns and cities."
Discussing which foods might be on offer, he remarked. "Obviously we want cuisines from all around the world, we've got an Italian-style thing with our pizzas and our Cajun style burgers. Future cans might feature Mexican or Asian influences.”
The idea could help completely transform part of a city that has a much lower profile than neighbours like Cardiff and, across the Severn, Bristol. It might also inspire other innovators who could come up with their own ideas for developments involving the redeployment of used shipping containers.
It would not be the first of its kind, however. Other examples include Inside Hatch in Manchester, a development using a plethora of old shipping containers located by the Mancunian way motorway flyover on the edge of the city centre.
Established in 2018, it sells a wide range of food and drink from local traders.