Plans have been announced to redevelop the former Ebbw Vale garden festival site in Wales.

London-based Chester Properties have bought the site for £19.5 million and they plan a major refurbishment and extension to improve the shopping centre and attract business from the four million tourists who visit the Brecon Beacons every year.

The company has bought the site from Eagle One, which owned it since it opened in 1997 and they plan to extend the centre from its current 41 shops.

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Tom Tyler, a director of Chester Properties, said: "We are delighted to add Festival Park to our portfolio of retail investments.

"Festival Park has the potential to become one of the leading shopping destinations in Wales and the West. There is considerable scope for refurbishment and further development at the site."

He concluded: "We are confident that by offering an improved shopping experience, we can increase footfall and spend at the centre. We hope this will also deliver a much-needed boost to the ongoing regeneration of Ebbw Vale."

Chester Properties is also involved in the redevelopment of the Kingsway Centre in Newport and also has shopping centres in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Walsall and St Albans.

(JM)