KALM’s legal battle to prevent the closure of Abergavenny Livestock market and its removal from the town has drawn a blank as a High Court judge has rejected claims that Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) has acted unlawfully. MCC aim to replace the one hundred and fifty year old livestock market with a new market near Raglan they have already agreed to sell the old site with planning permission for a supermarket and library. The judicial review heard KALM had many complaints about Monmouthshire council's decision to grant planning permission in June last year to Optimisation Developments Ltd.
The market which covers a 1.9-hectare site is surrounded by the Abergavenny Conservation Area on three sides. KALM arguments included the claims that demolition would seriously affect the local economy and threaten to contaminate the River Usk. All the complaints were rejected by Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, who said the council had take all conservation, environmental and socio-economic issues properly into account when reaching its decision.
MCC deputy leader Bob Greenland made much of the suggestion that the supermarket scheme could potentially bring in over of 200 jobs for local people. Interestingly enough a study by the National Retail Planning Forum (in 1998) of 93 new superstores found that each one resulted in a net loss of 270 local jobs per development. The opening a large supermarket can lead to a loss of jobs as local businesses close. Supermarket domination of the retail trade puts the local food infrastructure at risk threatening the viability of local abattoirs, wholesalers and small farms and the associated jobs.
This effect was spotted by the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England who noted that following the opening of a large supermarket there was a loss of choice as it becomes harder to buy local foods. 64% of the local shops in Fakenham, Norfolk, and 75% of those in Warminster, Wiltshire, closed when new superstores were built in those towns. Most supermarkets sell very little locally sourced produce, with only 1-2% of their turnover coming from local foods, so, when local shops close, the outlet for local produce disappears with them.
As has already been noted by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) our local retail traders are in trouble, The UK is losing approximately 2,000 local shops every year and that of this continues then by 2015 there will be no independent retailers left in business, something that effects consumers and communities as they effectively lose any real choice in the marketplace.
I think that Government and elected representatives at almost every level (and from almost every political party) have failed the good people of Abergavenny and for small farmers from the surrounding area. MCC has been allowed to act as judge, jury (not to mention jury sector), executioner and main financial beneficiary, from the closure of Abergavenny Livestock market, which if nothing else should focus minds on the farcical planning process.
Showing posts with label Keep Abergavenny Livestock market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keep Abergavenny Livestock market. Show all posts
Monday, 12 November 2012
Thursday, 13 September 2012
KEEP(ING) ABERGAVENNY LIVESTOCK MARKET
This October is going to be busy month for Monmouth
County Council (MCC) one way or another with two judicial reviews pending in
relation to Abergavenny Livestock Market. To be fair one is in relation to the
Welsh government for its decision to repeal the Abergavenny Improvement Acts
and the second one is in relation to the Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) giving
permission to sell the land upon which the livestock market sits. Both will be
held at the High court in Cardiff on October 3rd.
Observation of MCC’s behaviour over recent years might suggest that it’s solely to boost the local authorities coffers. It’s a matter of public record that the County Council has long struggled to balance the books, suffering from a combination of historic poor financial settlements and poor decision making, which has driven the Authority to dispose of its assets for short term financial gain and actively pursue a policy of robbing Peter to pay Paul. What makes this interesting is that earlier this year a report commissioned by the Abergavenny Civic Society pointed out that re-developing the existing market site would cost approximately half of the council's new site. The report stated that redevelopment would cost about £2.25m, with MCC's plan would cost closer to £5m.
I (and no doubt many other people) have long been puzzled by Conservative dominated MCC’s obsessive desire (let alone their motivation or heaven forbid any incentive), to press for the disposal of the livestock market site (and the livestock Market) and its replacement with yet another supermarket, in Abergavenny. MCC has partially succeeded in its aim by persuading the Labour in Wales administered National Assembly to repeal the original parliamentary legislation (which dated from the 19th century) which gave Abergavenny the legal right to hold a market within the town - as part of one of three Abergavenny Improvement Acts.
This was nominally one step further than previous assembly governments which failed to call in (for review) the planning applications for the livestock market site despite plenty of opportunities to do so if only on grounds of its economic impact and sustainability. The Labour in Wales,administered Welsh Government, went one step further, in allowing people a say on whether or not the Abergavenny Improvement Acts should be repealed. The acts had ensured the presence of a livestock market in or in close proximity to Abergavenny, hence MCC’s desire to remove them.
The consultation process was a case of being too little too late, it was not good enough, and the scope for the consultation and review was far too narrow being limited to the repeal of the Abergavenny Improvement Acts, rather than why they were being repealed. It’s grimly ironic that one of the main reasons for Abergavenny’s existence is the livestock market which still works despite the fact that it needs modernisation. Local farmers were surveyed by KALM and they expressed a preference for retaining the livestock market where it is because it is the centre of an area where they have access to agricultural traders, dealers and other facilities. Thousands of letters were delivered to the National Assembly (in Cardiff) calling for the retention of the livestock market, to next to no effect.
From where I am sat it is clear that Government (and elected representatives) at almost every level (and from almost every political party) have failed the good people of Abergavenny and for small famers from the surrounding area. MCC has been allowed to act as judge, jury, executioners and main financial beneficiary, from the closure of Abergavenny Livestock market. The silence of locally elected representatives from Monmouth constituency, who happen to be members of the same political party, as those trying to remove the livestock market from the town, has been as eloquent as it has been telling.
Observation of MCC’s behaviour over recent years might suggest that it’s solely to boost the local authorities coffers. It’s a matter of public record that the County Council has long struggled to balance the books, suffering from a combination of historic poor financial settlements and poor decision making, which has driven the Authority to dispose of its assets for short term financial gain and actively pursue a policy of robbing Peter to pay Paul. What makes this interesting is that earlier this year a report commissioned by the Abergavenny Civic Society pointed out that re-developing the existing market site would cost approximately half of the council's new site. The report stated that redevelopment would cost about £2.25m, with MCC's plan would cost closer to £5m.
I (and no doubt many other people) have long been puzzled by Conservative dominated MCC’s obsessive desire (let alone their motivation or heaven forbid any incentive), to press for the disposal of the livestock market site (and the livestock Market) and its replacement with yet another supermarket, in Abergavenny. MCC has partially succeeded in its aim by persuading the Labour in Wales administered National Assembly to repeal the original parliamentary legislation (which dated from the 19th century) which gave Abergavenny the legal right to hold a market within the town - as part of one of three Abergavenny Improvement Acts.
This was nominally one step further than previous assembly governments which failed to call in (for review) the planning applications for the livestock market site despite plenty of opportunities to do so if only on grounds of its economic impact and sustainability. The Labour in Wales,administered Welsh Government, went one step further, in allowing people a say on whether or not the Abergavenny Improvement Acts should be repealed. The acts had ensured the presence of a livestock market in or in close proximity to Abergavenny, hence MCC’s desire to remove them.
The consultation process was a case of being too little too late, it was not good enough, and the scope for the consultation and review was far too narrow being limited to the repeal of the Abergavenny Improvement Acts, rather than why they were being repealed. It’s grimly ironic that one of the main reasons for Abergavenny’s existence is the livestock market which still works despite the fact that it needs modernisation. Local farmers were surveyed by KALM and they expressed a preference for retaining the livestock market where it is because it is the centre of an area where they have access to agricultural traders, dealers and other facilities. Thousands of letters were delivered to the National Assembly (in Cardiff) calling for the retention of the livestock market, to next to no effect.
From where I am sat it is clear that Government (and elected representatives) at almost every level (and from almost every political party) have failed the good people of Abergavenny and for small famers from the surrounding area. MCC has been allowed to act as judge, jury, executioners and main financial beneficiary, from the closure of Abergavenny Livestock market. The silence of locally elected representatives from Monmouth constituency, who happen to be members of the same political party, as those trying to remove the livestock market from the town, has been as eloquent as it has been telling.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
A GOVERNANCE OF SPIVS...
The Westminster government is promising (in England) to get planning officers "off people's backs" with a relaxation of current rules. In true Spiv fashion ‘ for a limited period, people will be allowed to build larger extensions on houses (up to eight metres for detached homes and six for others). Shops and offices will also be able grow to the edges of their premises as Plan A (harsh Public Sector Cuts) fails and a note of desperation creeps in Westminster ministers seek to boost the economy.
On the surface it sounds good; it seems reasonable, save for the fact that somewhere amidst the smoke and mirrors is a plan to reduce developer’s obligations to build proportional amounts of affordable housing. Not that long ago, a matter of a few months, the Westminster government rewrote the entire planning framework (for England) despite some fierce resistance from countryside campaigners. Now Westminster ministers want further changes to planning rules (in England) in an attempt to boost house-building and revive the economy.
Meanwhile this side of the bridge a major change in planning rules in Wales aims to ‘tilt the balance in favour of economic growth over the environment and social factors’. This decision may be aimed quite specifically at overturning those few occasions when our Local Authorities have rejected some developments (often at the behest of local residents) rather than putting economic needs ahead of economic and environmental benefits.
The Labour in Wales run Welsh government will formally announce this controversial move sometime next month. The problem lies not with the planning system, which is far too weak, and has proved itself to be more than capable of blatantly ignoring expressed local concerns, with few real consequences for the decision makers. Any meaningful supervision of the planning process by the Welsh Assembly Government has proved to be pretty minimal.
Quietly in Westminster we are moving towards having ‘a Government of Spivs, by Spivs and for Spivs’. The rules and regulations are blamed for the lack of economic growth rather than it being a direct consequence of the banking crash, the bankers recklessness and years of allowing the so called ‘free market’ to drive economic policy and economic planning. Oddly enough, overregulation and red tape did not cause the financial crash – the banks did.
Poor regulation, stupidity and greed and a desire by Government’s (of all political hues) to look the other way as long as things appeared (on the surface at least) to be working all contributed. Now here in Wales, our local authorities, certainly not the best guardian of the public interest and our environment have been bluntly told, by the Welsh Government, that they should recognise that ‘there will be occasions when the economic benefits will outweigh social and environmental considerations’.
Tell that to the residents of Torfaen, who have been fighting the plan and the good citizens of Abergavenny who have been fighting to retain the livestock market in the town. Or perhaps the concerned residents of Carmarthen who are worried about the impact of over large housing developments or the concerned residents of Holyhead who are opposed to new marina development. All these people (and all of us) have been ill-served by the planning system, by our local authorities and our own Government in Cardiff – why should we expect the Westminster Government to be any different...
On the surface it sounds good; it seems reasonable, save for the fact that somewhere amidst the smoke and mirrors is a plan to reduce developer’s obligations to build proportional amounts of affordable housing. Not that long ago, a matter of a few months, the Westminster government rewrote the entire planning framework (for England) despite some fierce resistance from countryside campaigners. Now Westminster ministers want further changes to planning rules (in England) in an attempt to boost house-building and revive the economy.
Meanwhile this side of the bridge a major change in planning rules in Wales aims to ‘tilt the balance in favour of economic growth over the environment and social factors’. This decision may be aimed quite specifically at overturning those few occasions when our Local Authorities have rejected some developments (often at the behest of local residents) rather than putting economic needs ahead of economic and environmental benefits.
The Labour in Wales run Welsh government will formally announce this controversial move sometime next month. The problem lies not with the planning system, which is far too weak, and has proved itself to be more than capable of blatantly ignoring expressed local concerns, with few real consequences for the decision makers. Any meaningful supervision of the planning process by the Welsh Assembly Government has proved to be pretty minimal.
Quietly in Westminster we are moving towards having ‘a Government of Spivs, by Spivs and for Spivs’. The rules and regulations are blamed for the lack of economic growth rather than it being a direct consequence of the banking crash, the bankers recklessness and years of allowing the so called ‘free market’ to drive economic policy and economic planning. Oddly enough, overregulation and red tape did not cause the financial crash – the banks did.
Poor regulation, stupidity and greed and a desire by Government’s (of all political hues) to look the other way as long as things appeared (on the surface at least) to be working all contributed. Now here in Wales, our local authorities, certainly not the best guardian of the public interest and our environment have been bluntly told, by the Welsh Government, that they should recognise that ‘there will be occasions when the economic benefits will outweigh social and environmental considerations’.
Tell that to the residents of Torfaen, who have been fighting the plan and the good citizens of Abergavenny who have been fighting to retain the livestock market in the town. Or perhaps the concerned residents of Carmarthen who are worried about the impact of over large housing developments or the concerned residents of Holyhead who are opposed to new marina development. All these people (and all of us) have been ill-served by the planning system, by our local authorities and our own Government in Cardiff – why should we expect the Westminster Government to be any different...
Thursday, 12 January 2012
SIMPLY A BAD DECISION...
News that the local Government minister, Carl Sargeant, has announced that the Abergavenny Improvement Acts (1854 – 1871) are to be repealed is bad news. The removal of these old laws, that ensured that a livestock market be held within Abergavenny, may finally open the door to the building of a supermarket on the site of the current livestock market. This move has long been obsessively championed by Monmouthshire County Council, who will benefit financially from the disposal of site of the livestock market.
Carl Sargeant’s decision while not necessarily the final nail in the coffin of the current livestock market, certainly does not help local people and campaigners, who have been resisting the loss of the livestock market for a number of years. The Welsh Government has over the years seriously failed the people of Abergavenny and the surrounding area and has entirely missed the important issues raised by the protesters.
Conservative dominated Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) desire to dispose of the cattle market site (and the Cattle Market) in Abergavenny to boost the local authorities coffers had come up against the original parliamentary legislation (dating for the 19th century) which give Abergavenny the legal right to hold a market within the town. MCC has long struggled to balance the books for many years having suffered from poor financial settlements over the years, is seeking to dispose of its assets for short term financial gain.
In retrospect MCC should have grasped the opportunity to get things right when it came to planning the long term economic future of Abergavenny - they simply chose not to. The repeated failure to work with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and it’s fundamentally unique character as a market town, is profoundly depressing.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in Wales) we have seen the detrimental economic effects on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth (to name but two) of ill-thought out redevelopment schemes. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny and potential redevelopment of the unused portion of the site presented a real opportunity to do something different, something that could have addressed environmental and economic concerns.
For some years Welsh Government Ministers (under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needed to be done in this specific case. That they have in this case consistently chosen not to do this despite the strength of the case and the importance of the issues raised should raise some serious concerns about the quality of advice given to ministers and the support they get form the civil service, if nothing else.
While I recognise that there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty that in the case the National Assembly has missed the point entirely. The issues and concerns raised about redevelopment, its economic impact and the lack of impartiality in the planning process are not only important locally, they have a wider relevance across Wales.
The whole sorry process raised issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; issues which will have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; and may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality. And that is aside from the significant impact on sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance within Abergavenny.
One thing that is clear is that our planning laws are clearly in need of a serious revamp, especially when one of the key beneficiaries (Conservative run Monmouthshire County Council) effectively ran the whole planning process as effective judge, jury (and jury selector), executioner and main financial beneficiary. The effective silence and virtual invisibility of locally elected National Assembly and Westminster representatives on what is (and has been for a number of years) a key local issue is also worthy of note.
Having fought three elections in Monmouth constituency (between 1005 and 2010) I can say that the opposition of the loss of the livestock market has never been about nimbyism, people in and around Abergavenny have never been opposed to balanced well thought out development. The implications of the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market is one of those cases where there was a real a pressing need to call in the proposed development, yet the Welsh Government and its Ministers (consistently) failed to step up to the mark for the people of Abergavenny.
Perhaps the reason for the failure is down to a combination of poor advice from civil servants to ministers, or a marked indifference on the part of elected representatives of Labour in Wales to any other parts of Wales that fall outside what they perceive as their territory. Whatever the reason, this is a bad decision, one that could have a significant and profound lasting economic impact on the town of Abergavenny and its surrounding area in future years.
Carl Sargeant’s decision while not necessarily the final nail in the coffin of the current livestock market, certainly does not help local people and campaigners, who have been resisting the loss of the livestock market for a number of years. The Welsh Government has over the years seriously failed the people of Abergavenny and the surrounding area and has entirely missed the important issues raised by the protesters.
Conservative dominated Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) desire to dispose of the cattle market site (and the Cattle Market) in Abergavenny to boost the local authorities coffers had come up against the original parliamentary legislation (dating for the 19th century) which give Abergavenny the legal right to hold a market within the town. MCC has long struggled to balance the books for many years having suffered from poor financial settlements over the years, is seeking to dispose of its assets for short term financial gain.
In retrospect MCC should have grasped the opportunity to get things right when it came to planning the long term economic future of Abergavenny - they simply chose not to. The repeated failure to work with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and it’s fundamentally unique character as a market town, is profoundly depressing.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in Wales) we have seen the detrimental economic effects on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth (to name but two) of ill-thought out redevelopment schemes. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny and potential redevelopment of the unused portion of the site presented a real opportunity to do something different, something that could have addressed environmental and economic concerns.
For some years Welsh Government Ministers (under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needed to be done in this specific case. That they have in this case consistently chosen not to do this despite the strength of the case and the importance of the issues raised should raise some serious concerns about the quality of advice given to ministers and the support they get form the civil service, if nothing else.
While I recognise that there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty that in the case the National Assembly has missed the point entirely. The issues and concerns raised about redevelopment, its economic impact and the lack of impartiality in the planning process are not only important locally, they have a wider relevance across Wales.
The whole sorry process raised issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; issues which will have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; and may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality. And that is aside from the significant impact on sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance within Abergavenny.
One thing that is clear is that our planning laws are clearly in need of a serious revamp, especially when one of the key beneficiaries (Conservative run Monmouthshire County Council) effectively ran the whole planning process as effective judge, jury (and jury selector), executioner and main financial beneficiary. The effective silence and virtual invisibility of locally elected National Assembly and Westminster representatives on what is (and has been for a number of years) a key local issue is also worthy of note.
Having fought three elections in Monmouth constituency (between 1005 and 2010) I can say that the opposition of the loss of the livestock market has never been about nimbyism, people in and around Abergavenny have never been opposed to balanced well thought out development. The implications of the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market is one of those cases where there was a real a pressing need to call in the proposed development, yet the Welsh Government and its Ministers (consistently) failed to step up to the mark for the people of Abergavenny.
Perhaps the reason for the failure is down to a combination of poor advice from civil servants to ministers, or a marked indifference on the part of elected representatives of Labour in Wales to any other parts of Wales that fall outside what they perceive as their territory. Whatever the reason, this is a bad decision, one that could have a significant and profound lasting economic impact on the town of Abergavenny and its surrounding area in future years.
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
ABERGAVENNY LIVESTOCK MARKET
The decision of the ruling Conservative Party group on Monmouth County Council (MCC) to grant approval for a supermarket development on the current site of Abergavenny Livestock Market (Tuesday 15th June) is as bereft of common sense as it is pregnant with consequences. This decision will fundamentally change the local economy of the area and the character of this much commended market town.
The suggestion that the arrival of a new supermarket development would enhance the town and bring new customers to the smaller independent retailers and businesses in the town is fatuous in the extreme. Local businesses provided work for local trades people such as electricians, builders and plumbers – whereas national chains tend to employ people from outside of the area for renovation and repair work.
There other beneficial knock on effects with local employment in banking, accountancy, legal advice, insurance, etc – all of which underpin the viability of our small towns - as small businesses also trade with each other. Local businesses also tend to be far more flexible with employees when it comes to terms and conditions and hours worked, unlike the large national chains and supermarkets.
On a more mundane political level, the not so eloquent silence on Monmouth constituency's elected Conservative representatives (to Westminster and the National Assembly) on this issue is both interesting and a matter of public record. Even David Cameron (before the Westminster election) and subsequently the Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition Government has at least paid lip service to the economic and social importance of our town centres and the principles of economic sustainability.
MCC has struggled to balance the books for many years, it has suffered from a poor financial settlement, this is a situation that has clearly driven the Authority to dispose of its assets for financial gain. The harsh reality is that MCC is (as are many local authorities across Wales) far too small to be viable in terms of finances and delivery of services. Taking the long view, local residents are continuing to pay the price for the demise of Gwent.
Most people can see, with the exception of MCC and its planners; that the public, given a decent choice, are more than happy to buy local produce and to support local retailers - they don't particularly want to shop in chain dominated high streets. A successful dynamic and diverse economy has a place for the larger retailer and the supermarket chain, but, not at the expense of everything else and the destruction of our small town high streets.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in England and Wales) we have all seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny presents a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
The National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
The suggestion that the arrival of a new supermarket development would enhance the town and bring new customers to the smaller independent retailers and businesses in the town is fatuous in the extreme. Local businesses provided work for local trades people such as electricians, builders and plumbers – whereas national chains tend to employ people from outside of the area for renovation and repair work.
There other beneficial knock on effects with local employment in banking, accountancy, legal advice, insurance, etc – all of which underpin the viability of our small towns - as small businesses also trade with each other. Local businesses also tend to be far more flexible with employees when it comes to terms and conditions and hours worked, unlike the large national chains and supermarkets.
On a more mundane political level, the not so eloquent silence on Monmouth constituency's elected Conservative representatives (to Westminster and the National Assembly) on this issue is both interesting and a matter of public record. Even David Cameron (before the Westminster election) and subsequently the Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition Government has at least paid lip service to the economic and social importance of our town centres and the principles of economic sustainability.
MCC has struggled to balance the books for many years, it has suffered from a poor financial settlement, this is a situation that has clearly driven the Authority to dispose of its assets for financial gain. The harsh reality is that MCC is (as are many local authorities across Wales) far too small to be viable in terms of finances and delivery of services. Taking the long view, local residents are continuing to pay the price for the demise of Gwent.
Most people can see, with the exception of MCC and its planners; that the public, given a decent choice, are more than happy to buy local produce and to support local retailers - they don't particularly want to shop in chain dominated high streets. A successful dynamic and diverse economy has a place for the larger retailer and the supermarket chain, but, not at the expense of everything else and the destruction of our small town high streets.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in England and Wales) we have all seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny presents a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
The National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER
News that Conservative dominated Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) and the supermarket Morrison's have exchanged contracts for the sale of Abergavenny's cattle market site, will come as no surprise to the residents of Abergavenny. MCC have, over the years been hell bent on disposing of the cattle market site, in an increasingly desperate attempt to boost the local authorities coffers.
MCC has struggled to balance the books for many years, it has suffered from a poor financial settlement, this is a situation that has clearly driven the Authority to dispose of its assets for financial gain. The harsh reality is that MCC is (as are many local authorities across Wales) far too small to be viable in terms of finances and delivery of services. Taking the long view, local residents are still paying the price for the demise of Gwent.
Most people could (and can) see, with the exception of MCC and its planners; that the public, given a choice, are more than happy to buy local produce and to support local retailers - they don't particularly want to shop in chain dominated high streets. A successful dynamic and diverse economy has a place for the larger retailer and the supermarket chain, but, not at the expense of everything else and the destruction of our small town high streets.
For a number of years there has been an ongoing campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) and to preserve the unique character of Abergavenny as a traditional market town shows. Survey, petitions and research have over the years shown that both local residents and many local farmers wish to retain an active Cattle Market in Abergavenny. MCC should if it had half a brain made the most of a real opportunity to get things right when it came to planning the long term economic future of Abergavenny.
KALM effectively presented MCC on a number of occasions with real opportunities to begin the whole process afresh, by working hand in hand with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and it’s fundamentally unique character as a market town. For reasons of short term financial gain MCC Conservative Councillors have chosen not too do this.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in England and Wales) we have to often in the past seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny presents a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
The National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
MCC has struggled to balance the books for many years, it has suffered from a poor financial settlement, this is a situation that has clearly driven the Authority to dispose of its assets for financial gain. The harsh reality is that MCC is (as are many local authorities across Wales) far too small to be viable in terms of finances and delivery of services. Taking the long view, local residents are still paying the price for the demise of Gwent.
Most people could (and can) see, with the exception of MCC and its planners; that the public, given a choice, are more than happy to buy local produce and to support local retailers - they don't particularly want to shop in chain dominated high streets. A successful dynamic and diverse economy has a place for the larger retailer and the supermarket chain, but, not at the expense of everything else and the destruction of our small town high streets.
For a number of years there has been an ongoing campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) and to preserve the unique character of Abergavenny as a traditional market town shows. Survey, petitions and research have over the years shown that both local residents and many local farmers wish to retain an active Cattle Market in Abergavenny. MCC should if it had half a brain made the most of a real opportunity to get things right when it came to planning the long term economic future of Abergavenny.
KALM effectively presented MCC on a number of occasions with real opportunities to begin the whole process afresh, by working hand in hand with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and it’s fundamentally unique character as a market town. For reasons of short term financial gain MCC Conservative Councillors have chosen not too do this.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in England and Wales) we have to often in the past seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny presents a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
The National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
THE ELOQUENT SILENCE OF DAVID DAVIES
Monmouth constituency, depending on your point of view is blessed (for want of a better word) with David Davies as its MP, someone who is well known for being opinionated on many matters - some controversial, some not so controversial. Yet there are topics upon which Mr Davies is entirely silent, not a single comment - one to these is the ongoing controversy that surrounds the questionable role of Conservative run (badly run in many peoples eyes) Monmouthshire County Council in the fate of Abergavenny Livestock Market.
The fate of the livestock market in Abergavenny is something that has animated for the right reasons a great many people in and around Abergavenny - townspeople, small farmers, small business people and visitors to the town, who are concerned about the long term economic consequences of losing the Livestock Market and replacing it with (as has been proposed once more) a supermarket.
The ongoing campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) and to preserve the unique character of Abergavenny as a traditional market town has shown that both local residents and many local small farmers wish to retain the Cattle Market in Abergavenny. Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) has been trying to close this issue and make its decisions behind closed doors out of sight and out of mind.
What should have been a real opportunity to get things right and to work closely with local people to preserve the livestock market and sympathetically redevelop the unused portion of the livestock market has become a key issue for many people and a serious bone of contention with the County Council. The campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) has effectively presented MCC with a real opportunity to begin the whole process afresh, this time working hand in hand with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and its fundamentally unique character as a market town.
Oddly enough, this has not happened! MCC is still hell-bent on removing the Livestock Market from Abergavenny and refuse point blank to talk to those people campaigning for an alternative solution. The Conservative Party in Monmouthshire has effectively closed ranks, the sitting Conservative AM, Nick Ramsay amazingly made himself scarce to avoid having to receive some 5,000+ signed letters of objection at the National Assembly last year and has been conspicuous by his silence (just like David Davies MP) ever since.
There is a bigger issue at stake here than the fate of Abegavenny Livestock Market - across Monmouthshire (and many other small and larger towns across England and Wales) many people have taken note of the fact that we have to often in the past seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere.
The ongoing campaign retention of the cattle market (and the concerns expressed to me on the doorstep over the years in various election campaigns in Monmouth constituency, when in and around Abergavenny) should be acted upon for they are a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
At some point the National Assembly will have to take note and action for National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
Most people can see that Abergavenny needs to retain its unique, attractive features and not join the sterile trend towards large retail and supermarket-dominated clone town centre deserts – save for MCC. In the not so recent past a whole range of suppliers, traders and small businesses who sell to consumers and too each other have along with whole communities suffered from this increasingly well recognised but misguided model of retailing and economic development. Elsewhere in Monmouthshire, the damage done to Monmouth and Chepstow by ill-thought out retail chain dominated economic redevelopment - no one in their right mind would want to damage Abergavenny’s economy and unique character as a market town.
In the meantime the decisions made by Conservative run Monmouthshire County Council in relation to the disposal of the Livestock Market site in Abergavenny need serious scrutiny. On one level alone (and there are more areas of concern) it is clear that the County Council (which will gain financially from the disposal of the asset that is the Livestock Market) is not and has never acted as an impartial participant in the planning process.
The continued silence of Monmouth Constituency's Conservative representatives David Davies MP in Westminster and Nick Ramsay AM in Cardiff should also be noted as they are clearly following the party line at the expense of the their constituents interests and at the expense of the future sustainable prosperity of the town of Abergavenny and the north west of their constituency and beyond. It's pretty clear that any invitation to join them (the Conservatives) in government does not run to Monmouth Constituency - I wonder what David ("Call me Dave") Cameron would think of that?
The fate of the livestock market in Abergavenny is something that has animated for the right reasons a great many people in and around Abergavenny - townspeople, small farmers, small business people and visitors to the town, who are concerned about the long term economic consequences of losing the Livestock Market and replacing it with (as has been proposed once more) a supermarket.
The ongoing campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) and to preserve the unique character of Abergavenny as a traditional market town has shown that both local residents and many local small farmers wish to retain the Cattle Market in Abergavenny. Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) has been trying to close this issue and make its decisions behind closed doors out of sight and out of mind.
What should have been a real opportunity to get things right and to work closely with local people to preserve the livestock market and sympathetically redevelop the unused portion of the livestock market has become a key issue for many people and a serious bone of contention with the County Council. The campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) has effectively presented MCC with a real opportunity to begin the whole process afresh, this time working hand in hand with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and its fundamentally unique character as a market town.
Oddly enough, this has not happened! MCC is still hell-bent on removing the Livestock Market from Abergavenny and refuse point blank to talk to those people campaigning for an alternative solution. The Conservative Party in Monmouthshire has effectively closed ranks, the sitting Conservative AM, Nick Ramsay amazingly made himself scarce to avoid having to receive some 5,000+ signed letters of objection at the National Assembly last year and has been conspicuous by his silence (just like David Davies MP) ever since.
There is a bigger issue at stake here than the fate of Abegavenny Livestock Market - across Monmouthshire (and many other small and larger towns across England and Wales) many people have taken note of the fact that we have to often in the past seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere.
The ongoing campaign retention of the cattle market (and the concerns expressed to me on the doorstep over the years in various election campaigns in Monmouth constituency, when in and around Abergavenny) should be acted upon for they are a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
At some point the National Assembly will have to take note and action for National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, something that clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
Most people can see that Abergavenny needs to retain its unique, attractive features and not join the sterile trend towards large retail and supermarket-dominated clone town centre deserts – save for MCC. In the not so recent past a whole range of suppliers, traders and small businesses who sell to consumers and too each other have along with whole communities suffered from this increasingly well recognised but misguided model of retailing and economic development. Elsewhere in Monmouthshire, the damage done to Monmouth and Chepstow by ill-thought out retail chain dominated economic redevelopment - no one in their right mind would want to damage Abergavenny’s economy and unique character as a market town.
In the meantime the decisions made by Conservative run Monmouthshire County Council in relation to the disposal of the Livestock Market site in Abergavenny need serious scrutiny. On one level alone (and there are more areas of concern) it is clear that the County Council (which will gain financially from the disposal of the asset that is the Livestock Market) is not and has never acted as an impartial participant in the planning process.
The continued silence of Monmouth Constituency's Conservative representatives David Davies MP in Westminster and Nick Ramsay AM in Cardiff should also be noted as they are clearly following the party line at the expense of the their constituents interests and at the expense of the future sustainable prosperity of the town of Abergavenny and the north west of their constituency and beyond. It's pretty clear that any invitation to join them (the Conservatives) in government does not run to Monmouth Constituency - I wonder what David ("Call me Dave") Cameron would think of that?
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market
The ongoing campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) and to preserve the unique character of Abergavenny as a traditional market town shows that both local residents and many local farmers wish to retain the Cattle Market in Abergavenny. Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) should (if it had half a brain) make the most of an real opportunity to get things right. What KALM has effect8ively done it present MCC with a real opportunity to begin the whole process afresh, this time working hand in hand with concerned local residents, farmers and small businesses to ensure that Abergavenny retains its Cattle Market and it’s fundamentally unique character as a market town.
Across Monmouthshire (and elsewhere in England and Wales) we have to often in the past seen ill-thought out unsympathetic redevelopments that have had a detrimental effect on the local economies in both Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere. The retention of the cattle market in Abergavenny presents a real opportunity to do something fundamentally different, something
that should be able to address both environmental and economic concerns and contribute to the retention of the unique character of the market town that is Abergavenny.
National Assembly Ministers, under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 have the power to call in any applications for planning permission for their own determination, somethinghtat clearly needs to be done in this specific case. While there is a tendency to consider that development proposals are best dealt with by planning authorities that know their area, its needs and sensitivities, it is pretty obvious that with regard to MCC, and the redevelopment of Abergavenny and its cattle market this is clearly not the case, hence the need to call in this proposed development.
Planning applications can be called in when they raise issues of more than local importance, issues which are in conflict with national planning policies; could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality; may give rise to substantial controversy beyond the immediate locality and are likely significantly to affect sites of scientific, nature conservation or historic interest or areas of landscape importance which covers almost every aspect of the proposed redevelopment of Abergavenny cattle market.
Most people can see that Abergavenny needs to retain its unique, attractive features and not join the sterile trend towards large retail and supermarket-dominated clone town centre deserts – save for MCC. In the not so recent past a whole range of suppliers, traders and small businesses who sell to consumers and too each other have along with whole communities suffered from this increasingly well recognised but misguided model of retailing and economic development. Elsewhere in Monmouthshire, the damage done to Monmouth and Chepstow by ill-thought out retail chain dominated economic redevelopment - no one in their right mind would want to damage Abergavenny’s economy and unique character as a market town.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
I warmly welcome Plaid’s campaign to make the “Town Centre heart of our community”. Let's be brutally honest the small towns of Monmouth constituency and elsewhere in Wales have suffered in the past from ill-thought out developments and questionable short term economic thinking; local small to medium retailers and businesses and local consumers have suffered accordingly and ultimately we the consumers have paid the price with a loss of local services and choice.
Yet all is not lost, locally in Monmouth constituency, the continuing campaign to retain the livestock market in Abergavenny shows that many people have real and serious concerns about the economic future and the character of their communities. Now we have to ask ourselves and Monmouthshire County Council some serious questions about who these decisions in relation to redevelopment are being made for? And why? And who really benefits, locally or otherwise, certainly not us the customers?
Plaid Honorary president Dafydd Wigley said:
“Town centres have an invaluable role to play, aside from attracting visitors, they are also play a vital economic and social role. Many of the most vulnerable people in our communities lack the means to access the large out of town developments and rely heavily on smaller, local shops. We all need to work together to ensure that our town centres have a viable future. Local councils, the Assembly government and the UK government must all take steps, but this won’t achieve anything if the community itself doesn’t get involved and support our local, town centre businesses. The UK government needs to work together with the Welsh and local government to introduce policies to sustain our town centres. For too long the London government has left small businesses to fend for themselves while they prop up big business. Despite bailing out the banks, many small businesses are unable to secure the credit they need to survive. This cannot be allowed to continue and this is why Plaid is calling for action now to put our town centres back at the heart of our communities.”
Plaid has outlined a number of proposals to put town centres back at the heart of our communities including:
• the extension of credit union principles to support small and medium sized businesses
• a change in planning regulations to promote sustainable communities
• a mandatory retail impact assessment with each major planning development
• a level playing field for smaller, local businesses
The Times (27th October 2009) reported that in 705 town centres that had been surveyed, 10 per cent of shops failed between January and September of 2009. While it would be easy to see this merely as a cold, hard financial fact, of jobs and business and a direct result of the free market, there is more to it than that.
Shops are more than merely the places we go to in order to buy; they are the unacknowledged secular hubs of our communities. It has long been noted that recessions change the way we shop, the collective, tightening of belts brings about a well-documented shift from specialist shopping, in butchers and bookshops, to a different model, whereby customers visit one superstore for a variety of needs.
While this may be an understandable short to medium term consequence of economic uncertainty, the consequences may be pretty long term, maybe (and maybe is the key word here) when things improve economically and collective wallets are loosened again, then shoppers will abandon their necessary economy drive, and return to smaller local outlets once more. However, for that to happen, the local shops and small businesses need to still be in business.
The Times survey revealed that those businesses suffering the most are the ones that make one community different from the next. More than a thousand bookshops have closed, almost three quarters of them independents. Britain has lost at least 233 florists, and 1,146 corner shops. At least 1,136 pubs have closed, as have 4,143 restaurants and cafes, and 2,201 hairdressers – however you spin it, and spin is the key word here, having sat a listened to Tesco’s spin doctor (at a recent party conference) claim that his company helped to stimulate local economies but enabling local niche businesses to emerge, presumably after Tesco has trashed or mopped up (take your pick) the local economy and put local shops and local businesses out of business that is.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - and they should know - has noted that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 5 years hence, there will be no independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential local job opportunities.
Over the last twenty five years, we have all seen the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference. The result of the abject failure or indifference of local and central government to develop realistic local economic plans and a failure to create a level playing field for local businesses and suppliers, has been combined with some very questionable planning decisions over the last thirty years, has directly lead to many of our town centre's being "regenerated" to death.
The rise in the number of shops owned by larger retail chains damages the local economy, drains profit out of the area to remote corporate headquarters and reduces local job opportunities. Ten pound spent in a local business circulates in the local economy three times longer than if it is spent in a non local business. A real side effect of this is a real loss of a sense of community, a loss of local character as our high streets has lead to our high streets losing lost their distinctive local shops which have been replaced by “micro-format” supermarket or chain store branches and any real loss of choice for the customers.
The Assembly Government, recently commissioned a review of planning in Wales, saying that there was a need to simplify the system, but, this should not take place at the expense of fundamentally damaging democratic control of the planning process. Any plans to speed up the planning process should not at the cost of creating unsustainable developments that further damage our high streets and our communities.
There is a real necessity that We work together to ensure that our town centres have a viable future. Local councils, the Assembly government and the UK government must all take concrete steps, but this won’t achieve anything if the community itself doesn’t get involved and support our local, town centre businesses. The UK government needs to work together with the Welsh and local government to introduce policies to sustain our town centres.
For far too long successive Conservative and New Labour London government's have left small businesses to fend for themselves while they prop up big business and their friends in the City. Despite the recent bail out the banks, many small businesses are still having problems securing the necessary credit they need to survive. This cannot be allowed to continue and this is why Plaid is calling for action now to put our town centres back at the heart of our communities.
Yet all is not lost, locally in Monmouth constituency, the continuing campaign to retain the livestock market in Abergavenny shows that many people have real and serious concerns about the economic future and the character of their communities. Now we have to ask ourselves and Monmouthshire County Council some serious questions about who these decisions in relation to redevelopment are being made for? And why? And who really benefits, locally or otherwise, certainly not us the customers?
Plaid Honorary president Dafydd Wigley said:
“Town centres have an invaluable role to play, aside from attracting visitors, they are also play a vital economic and social role. Many of the most vulnerable people in our communities lack the means to access the large out of town developments and rely heavily on smaller, local shops. We all need to work together to ensure that our town centres have a viable future. Local councils, the Assembly government and the UK government must all take steps, but this won’t achieve anything if the community itself doesn’t get involved and support our local, town centre businesses. The UK government needs to work together with the Welsh and local government to introduce policies to sustain our town centres. For too long the London government has left small businesses to fend for themselves while they prop up big business. Despite bailing out the banks, many small businesses are unable to secure the credit they need to survive. This cannot be allowed to continue and this is why Plaid is calling for action now to put our town centres back at the heart of our communities.”
Plaid has outlined a number of proposals to put town centres back at the heart of our communities including:
• the extension of credit union principles to support small and medium sized businesses
• a change in planning regulations to promote sustainable communities
• a mandatory retail impact assessment with each major planning development
• a level playing field for smaller, local businesses
The Times (27th October 2009) reported that in 705 town centres that had been surveyed, 10 per cent of shops failed between January and September of 2009. While it would be easy to see this merely as a cold, hard financial fact, of jobs and business and a direct result of the free market, there is more to it than that.
Shops are more than merely the places we go to in order to buy; they are the unacknowledged secular hubs of our communities. It has long been noted that recessions change the way we shop, the collective, tightening of belts brings about a well-documented shift from specialist shopping, in butchers and bookshops, to a different model, whereby customers visit one superstore for a variety of needs.
While this may be an understandable short to medium term consequence of economic uncertainty, the consequences may be pretty long term, maybe (and maybe is the key word here) when things improve economically and collective wallets are loosened again, then shoppers will abandon their necessary economy drive, and return to smaller local outlets once more. However, for that to happen, the local shops and small businesses need to still be in business.
The Times survey revealed that those businesses suffering the most are the ones that make one community different from the next. More than a thousand bookshops have closed, almost three quarters of them independents. Britain has lost at least 233 florists, and 1,146 corner shops. At least 1,136 pubs have closed, as have 4,143 restaurants and cafes, and 2,201 hairdressers – however you spin it, and spin is the key word here, having sat a listened to Tesco’s spin doctor (at a recent party conference) claim that his company helped to stimulate local economies but enabling local niche businesses to emerge, presumably after Tesco has trashed or mopped up (take your pick) the local economy and put local shops and local businesses out of business that is.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - and they should know - has noted that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 5 years hence, there will be no independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential local job opportunities.
Over the last twenty five years, we have all seen the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference. The result of the abject failure or indifference of local and central government to develop realistic local economic plans and a failure to create a level playing field for local businesses and suppliers, has been combined with some very questionable planning decisions over the last thirty years, has directly lead to many of our town centre's being "regenerated" to death.
The rise in the number of shops owned by larger retail chains damages the local economy, drains profit out of the area to remote corporate headquarters and reduces local job opportunities. Ten pound spent in a local business circulates in the local economy three times longer than if it is spent in a non local business. A real side effect of this is a real loss of a sense of community, a loss of local character as our high streets has lead to our high streets losing lost their distinctive local shops which have been replaced by “micro-format” supermarket or chain store branches and any real loss of choice for the customers.
The Assembly Government, recently commissioned a review of planning in Wales, saying that there was a need to simplify the system, but, this should not take place at the expense of fundamentally damaging democratic control of the planning process. Any plans to speed up the planning process should not at the cost of creating unsustainable developments that further damage our high streets and our communities.
There is a real necessity that We work together to ensure that our town centres have a viable future. Local councils, the Assembly government and the UK government must all take concrete steps, but this won’t achieve anything if the community itself doesn’t get involved and support our local, town centre businesses. The UK government needs to work together with the Welsh and local government to introduce policies to sustain our town centres.
For far too long successive Conservative and New Labour London government's have left small businesses to fend for themselves while they prop up big business and their friends in the City. Despite the recent bail out the banks, many small businesses are still having problems securing the necessary credit they need to survive. This cannot be allowed to continue and this is why Plaid is calling for action now to put our town centres back at the heart of our communities.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
SAVING OUR TOWN CENTRES
Our small and not so small towns (in Monmouth constituency any beyond) have suffered from ill-thought out development and short term economic thinking and as our local small to medium sized businesses have suffered, so have our consumers have paid the price with a loss of local services and real choice in the marketplace.
Most people can clearly see that the rich individual character of many of our towns is evaporating before their eyes. Our High streets once filled with a rich mix of interdependent butchers, newsagents, tobacconists, pubs, bookshops, greengrocers and family owned general stores are now rapidly filling with supermarket stores, fast food chains and global fashion outlets.
This is a result of a failure by local and central government to develop local economic plans and to create a level playing field for local businesses and suppliers. When combined with some extremely questionable planning decisions over the last thirty years; this has lead to many of our town centre's being "regenerated" to the point where many of our local small businesses are clinging on by their finger tips. The loss of that sense of community is aggravated as our high streets lose their distinctive local shops which are replaced by “micro-format” supermarket or chain store branches.
This is not about nostalgia; the loss of locally owned shops and businesses damages the local economy as profits drain out of the area to remote corporate headquarters and more flexible local employment opportunities are destroyed. An economically active local network of food producers, wholesalers and local retailers help to sustain many other jobs within the local economy – far more jobs than a hypermarket and associated retail development.
Local businesses provide work for trade’s people such as electricians, builders and plumbers – whereas national chains tend to employ people from outside of the area for renovation and repair work. There other beneficial knock on effects with local employment in banking, accountancy, legal advice, insurance, etc – all of which underpin the viability of our small towns.
The Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England report ‘Rural Roulette’, which focused on the area around the small town of Saxmundan (in Suffolk) revealed that 81 shops surveyed employed 548 people, with 317 employees working part-time. Local small businesses were more flexible and able to fit in odd hours, at odd times for their staff. The report also noted that many employees travelled significantly shorter distances to their place of work and the majority of employees were women.
Further research for the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England reveals that money spent in local businesses stays in the local economy three times longer than when spent in shops belonging to the larger retail chains. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) notes that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and they estimate that if this rate of loss continues then by 2015 there will be no independent retailers left in business.
We need to develop more sustained long term initiatives that are designed to promote new and existing businesses in our small towns and rural areas, rather than detrimental retail developments that will help run them into the ground and damage the local economy. Our often hard pressed existing small businesses, local retailers and suppliers provide much needed jobs for local people and provide a linked network of businesses that use each other’s services and feed the local economy.
Small shops and local retailers provide a significant social network for many local people and passersby and add to the long term viability and vitality of our communities. Don’t say that you have not been warned…
Most people can clearly see that the rich individual character of many of our towns is evaporating before their eyes. Our High streets once filled with a rich mix of interdependent butchers, newsagents, tobacconists, pubs, bookshops, greengrocers and family owned general stores are now rapidly filling with supermarket stores, fast food chains and global fashion outlets.
This is a result of a failure by local and central government to develop local economic plans and to create a level playing field for local businesses and suppliers. When combined with some extremely questionable planning decisions over the last thirty years; this has lead to many of our town centre's being "regenerated" to the point where many of our local small businesses are clinging on by their finger tips. The loss of that sense of community is aggravated as our high streets lose their distinctive local shops which are replaced by “micro-format” supermarket or chain store branches.
This is not about nostalgia; the loss of locally owned shops and businesses damages the local economy as profits drain out of the area to remote corporate headquarters and more flexible local employment opportunities are destroyed. An economically active local network of food producers, wholesalers and local retailers help to sustain many other jobs within the local economy – far more jobs than a hypermarket and associated retail development.
Local businesses provide work for trade’s people such as electricians, builders and plumbers – whereas national chains tend to employ people from outside of the area for renovation and repair work. There other beneficial knock on effects with local employment in banking, accountancy, legal advice, insurance, etc – all of which underpin the viability of our small towns.
The Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England report ‘Rural Roulette’, which focused on the area around the small town of Saxmundan (in Suffolk) revealed that 81 shops surveyed employed 548 people, with 317 employees working part-time. Local small businesses were more flexible and able to fit in odd hours, at odd times for their staff. The report also noted that many employees travelled significantly shorter distances to their place of work and the majority of employees were women.
Further research for the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England reveals that money spent in local businesses stays in the local economy three times longer than when spent in shops belonging to the larger retail chains. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) notes that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and they estimate that if this rate of loss continues then by 2015 there will be no independent retailers left in business.
We need to develop more sustained long term initiatives that are designed to promote new and existing businesses in our small towns and rural areas, rather than detrimental retail developments that will help run them into the ground and damage the local economy. Our often hard pressed existing small businesses, local retailers and suppliers provide much needed jobs for local people and provide a linked network of businesses that use each other’s services and feed the local economy.
Small shops and local retailers provide a significant social network for many local people and passersby and add to the long term viability and vitality of our communities. Don’t say that you have not been warned…
Friday, 31 July 2009
ABERGAVENNY LIVESTOCK MARKET: A NEW OPPORTUNITY?
The recent collapse (for whatever reason) of the multi-million pound deal between Monmouthshire County Council (MCC), developer Henry Boot Ltd and Asda to redevelop the Livestock Market site has now given Monmouthshire County Council the opportunity to think again when it comes to its plans to redevelop the site of Abergavenny Livestock market. There is now a real opportunity to work with local residents, farmers and other interest parties and an opportunity to take a long view in relation to any proposed redevelopment of the cattle market.
Any future consultations on the future of the Livestock market must include the full participation of the people of Abergavenny and the surrounding farming community and no more secret behind closed doors deals. MCC now has as an opportunity to retain and modernise the livestock market, to keep it in Abergavenny and has a fresh an opportunity to take a longer view about the economic consequences for Abergavenny and the surrounding area.
The questions is will MCC have the intelligence to grasp this opportunity to work with local residents and local farmers for the benefit of Abergavenny and the surrounding area or will they keep trying to repeat the mistakes of the past and pull some dull ill-thought out redevelopment scheme out of the hat?
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Abergavenny Livestock Market (UPDATE)
On Saturday along with some other Plaid members in Monmouth I attended and supported the Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market march and rally on Saturday 25th April 2009. KALM aims to retain and improve the livestock market within it’s rightful place at the heart of the traditional market town that is Abergavenny.
The Cattle market is important not only to the economic well-being of the town. It's vital for the livelihood of the substantial farming community in north Gwent. Abergavenny is rightly renowned as a traditional market town.
Most people can see that Abergavenny needs to retain its unique, attractive features and not join the sterile trend towards large retail and supermarket-dominated clone town centre deserts – save for Monmouthshire County Council.
In the recent past a whole range of suppliers, traders and small businesses who sell to consumers and too each other have along with whole communities suffered from this increasingly well recognised but misguided model of retailing and economic development.
Elsewhere in Monmouthshire, the damage done to Monmouth and Chepstow by ill-thought out retail chain dominated economic redevelopment is plain to see – no one in their right mind would want to damage Abergavenny’s economy and unique character as a market town.
KALM’s strong and effective campaign, is to be welcomed, and it's supporters are to be congratulated, hopefully this should mark a turning point in the ongoing campaign to retain the Cattle Market in Abergavenny and lead to a more balanced well thought out sustainable model of economic redevelopment.
Well done to KALM and its supporters – keep up the good work.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
KALM - Keep Abergavenny livestock Market
The Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market (KALM) group in the ongoing campaign to retain the Cattle Market and to preserve the unique character of Abergavenny as a traditional market town have organised a march to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market.
MARCH to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market
Saturday 25th April 2009
Assemble at the Livestock Market at 11.30pm for 12 noon start
Ending Rally at the Livestock market - speakers.
Support Our Farmers
Support the town
Organised by:
Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market
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MARCH to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market
Saturday 25th April 2009
Assemble at the Livestock Market at 11.30pm for 12 noon start
Ending Rally at the Livestock market - speakers.
Support Our Farmers
Support the town
Organised by:
Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market
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