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The Design Commission for Wales asked Ash Sakula Architects to prepare a hypothetical masterplan for Newport West railway station. Setting aside the site’s flooding constraints, the masterplan rethinks how transport infrastructure in Wales can quietly seed the growth of a real neighbourhood, a place in its own right. Carefully setting up the conditions for daily life to unfold in a way that feels natural, walkable, and rooted in its place.

The masterplan proposes 1250 homes across 23 hectares, all within walking distance of the railway station, at around 54.4 dwellings per hectare. Not quite double the average house builder density but enough to bring everyday life to the streets. Much of this is delivered through Ash Sakula’s ‘Twins’ typology: stacked duplexes that provide what people value most: a front door onto the street, private outdoor space, and homes that feel personal.

Arranged as layered streets rather than isolated plots, these homes form a fine-grain that resists the monotony of cul-de-sacs and disconnected estates. This isn’t a new idea. It draws on a lineage of inventive working-class housing across the UK. From Tyneside flats, which quietly doubled housing in 19th-century Newcastle terraces, to the Warner Estate walk-ups in Walthamstow, stacked own-door  terraced homes. Every resident gets meaningful outdoor space: a garden for the ground floor home, and a generous roof terrace for the top floor giving people choice in how they live, grow, and gather.

The new station sits comfortably at the heart of this plan. Not a detached parkway lost in a sea of cars, but a clear, civic presence. Elevated slightly, surrounded by lots and lots of trees, its arrival sequence offers a sense of place rather than transit. Its design draws more from older European urban stations that are part building, part public space rather than the out-of-town interchange model we’ve grown too used to.

To the north, the hum of Docks Way creates a harsh edge, a structured car park absorbs commuting traffic and provides a welcomed buffer against the noise of the arterial road, allowing the residential streets to remain calm and walkable. Short parkland walks to the station and active streets lined with local businesses, workshops, and cafés offer a daily rhythm to the area. Everyday life becomes part of the station experience.

Parking is car-lite by design. An orchard-like parking lot for residents and train passengers can be structured with pergolas or double-height timber frames that shelter EV charging, green roofs, and future uses. The neighbourhood is organised around walking and cycling, supported by car clubs, e-bike pools, and delivery drop zones. Less tarmac, more trees and the space saved on roads is returned to convivial streets and shared gardens.

Throughout the site, housing is interwoven with small enterprise spaces shown in red: homes above studios, workshops opening onto quiet yards, small traders alongside front doors. Work and living sit easily together, without being forced into rigid zones. The neighbourhood supports local enterprise: nurseries, tool sheds, homework clubs, healthcare, and social enterprises sit alongside cafés and shops. Many residents work at least partly from home, drawing more life onto the streets throughout the day and strengthening the area’s viability as a commercial centre. Over time, independent guesthouses and small restaurants give the neighbourhood a distinct character, offering an alternative to generic hotel chains.

At the southern edge, where the Gwent Levels begin, the plan is careful. The floodplain remains open, with development stepping back to allow the landscape to breathe. Existing trees are kept wherever possible, forming the spine of new green corridors and parkland walks. Biodiversity and water management shape the threshold where settlement meets landscape. This is a calm approach to urban growth: density that supports life without crowding it; a station that feels connected rather than remote; a neighbourhood made up of ordinary, walkable pieces that add up to something quietly generous.