The town centre for the New Town of Cwmbran as laid out in the Masterplan of 1951 covered an area of 71 acres and was situated between Grange Road to the east and the Eastern Valleys railway line to the west, near the centre of the designated area. In 1951 only a small amount of existing housing along Coronation Road (now replaced by the current shopping mall) and Grange Road was in place, the majority of the designated land being in use for agriculture or recreation. The masterplan laid out a requirement for:

200 shops
Town Hall
Municipal Offices
Central Library
Arts Centre
Market
Police Offices
Health Centre
Public Hall
Swimming Bath
Bus Station
Post Office and sorting Office
Telephone Exchange
Carparks for 500 cars
Garages and Filling stations
Two Cinemas
A Hotel and Inns
Banks
Government Offices

The main shopping area was to be concentrated along a north-south 800 yard length of road forming the spine of the town centre, giving all shops the benefit of receiving some sunshine throughout the day for most of the year. The principle public buildings were to be concentrated around two square placed at either end of the main street, that to the north being the focus for leisure buildings such as a theatre and library, that to the south forming the Civic Square. 

The first proposal for the centre was submitted by J C P West in 1955, and was one of the first of a new generation of pedestrianised town centres, though modifications were made by the time it was finally approved in 1956-57. The first part of the town centre to be built was the north-east area associated with the bus station, and construction moved progressively south via Gwent Square, The Parade, and The Mall. The centre was originally open to the air, shelter from in wet weather being provided by a later continuous wide canopy along all the shop fronts. the centre was the home to Kibbys, one of the largest supermarkets in Wales, and the first Sainsbury's supermarket to be built in the nation in 1975. 

In addition to the commercial and civic buildings, c.500 people were to be housed in the centre at the developments of Monmouth House and The Tower. Public art and landscaping were also an important consideration in the design, with works by artists such as William Mitchell, Henry Collins, Polly Hope, David Horn and Theo Crosby commissioend and the building of the Water Gardens. 

Hot water for town centre shops and flats was provided via the District Heating Scheme, the boiler house for which was located in the basement of The Tower with hot water carried to the town centre via a system of underground pipes.

With the winding up of the Cwmbran Development Corporation, the Town Centre was sold to City and Country Property in 1985. In the 1990s the centre was expanded into land to the west of Llewelyn Road, when the Lockgate Retail Park was built.

S Fielding, RCAHMW, April 2021