Newport's revamped National Park Visitor Centre ( email ) was officially opened last Thursday by Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing Jane Davidson AM.

The centre in Long Street, Newport, owned and managed by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, was extended and refurbished over the winter.

The Minister yesterday addressed guests from Newport and the surrounding area, including pupils from Ysgol Bro Ingli involved in Talking Newport or Tafod Tydrath, a bilingual community oral history project that forms an interactive display in the centre.

Mrs Davidson said: "I'm very pleased to see that the building is completely sympathetic in its surroundings. The existing National Park Visitor Centre was very small but the work done to extend it into the adjacent cottage is absolutely lovely.

"I'd like to encourage local people to come to have a look - it's well worth a visit. It's a wonderful environment, Newport is a beautiful place and now we have a really good Visitor Centre in North Pembrokeshire, which is terribly important and will attract even more visitors."

The Talking Newport / Tafod Tydrath display gives visitors chance to hear local people sharing their memories of Newport's past and hopes for the future, and talking about how they live now.

The project is part-funded by PLANED and by the Sustainable Development Fund that is administered by the Park Authority. Among those involved are members of

Newport History Society and staff and pupils of Ysgol Bro Ingli.

Pupil Carys Thomas, aged ten, said: "It's been really interesting because I‘ve learned a lot about Newport itself and what people used to do here and the shops that there were. I've enjoyed it very much, I was a bit nervous at times but I interviewed my grandma so it wasn't too bad!"

The project's archive will be conserved by the Pembrokeshire County Council Museum Service at Scolton and more local people will be invited to share their memories, using recording equipment bought with the SDF grant.

As well as Tafod Tydrath, the Visitor Centre's displays include touch screens, a ‘feely box', film and audio activities and a real piece of spotted dolerite which helps tell the story of the famous Preseli bluestones.

Yesterday the Park Authority also received confirmation that the Visitor Centre had achieved a ‘Very Good' rating from BREEAM, the international environmental assessment method for buildings.

Chairman of the National Park Authority, Cllr Simon Hancock, said: "It's much easier to achieve high accreditation for new buildings, so we are absolutely delighted to receive this rating for a building which we have renovated, retaining its historic character but incorporating sustainable technologies to ensure its impact on the environment is minimal."

Newport Visitor Information Centre has full Tourist Information services and a shop. It is open daily from 10am until 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday mornings during the main summer season. The building is also used as an Authority satellite office, providing officers with a public meeting venue in the north of the county.