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.

PERHAPS - AN INSPIRED CHOICE?

The choice of David TC Davies (MP for Monmouth) as the new Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee may on the surface seem at first seem a tad odd. Certainly in the past he found the higher status of the Home Affairs Select Committee far more appealing than the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, where his poor attendance had been noted previously, with a bare 5 out of 44 appearances - so much for that strong voice for Monmouth / Wales in Westminster. 

However, once you finish mopping up the tea you spilt on your keyboard one you found out the news, then the appointment may begin to make more sense. Think about it, if you want to give someone a position to marshal the anti-devolution attack dogs / 'devo negatistas', derail legislative Competence Orders,  and generally treat Wales (and all things Welsh) with typical Tory contempt, then perhaps they (the ConDems) have made a wise choice after all - I mean Wales is just so not on Cameron and Clegg's radar and never will be. 

I'll bet that this has not gone down particularly well in Tory circles in Cardiff Bay...

THE WHY? RATHER THAN THE WHAT?

Monmouth's Tory MP, aka the Poster Boy of the increasingly out of touch Tory rabid right in South East Wales has been in the news again - being attacked by he would call the usual suspects - over some allegedly chance remarks about rape sentencing and ethnic minorities. Rather than joining in the media frenzy, and putting the well deserved boot in for all it's worth, I think that a brief examination of the WHY rather than the WHAT? would prove more useful.

Poster Boy at one time had an exceptionally high media profile, when as an AM, as one out of sixty, he worked the local, regional and national news in Wales very, very hard, with outrageous, very carefully worded (and I will come back to that) but, allegedly misunderstood statements and points of view that were guaranteed to provoke a degree of anger from what might be called the usual suspects. This worked fine, from his point of view when in the National Assembly, whatever the levels of irritation it might have provoked within Tory circles in Wales, if that's not a contradiction in terms.

The transition to the Westminster arena has proved to be less than kind, when not serving faithfully and dutifully as a hard working special constable for the British Transport Police in London, Poster Boy could be found throwing in his opinion and thoughts on a variety of debates and specific committees within Westminster.

From being a strong local voice for Monmouth in a National Assembly based in Cardiff, Poster Boy is now one of many, with a resultant much lower media profile, within Wales and within his own constituency - which has been noted by many people. Now this may be a result of Conservative Central Offices standard operating procedure with fresh Tory lobby fodder i.e. sit down, shut up, don't rock the boat and vote how and when you are told or it may not.

Either way, where Poster Boy wants to be and where Poster Boy wants to go, especially with, if the Conservatives win power and redraw the constituency boundaries in Wales to reduce the number of Welsh MP's by 10, is open to question. Certainly he finds the higher status of the Home Affairs Select Committee far more appealing than the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, where his poor attendance has been noted, with a bare 5 out of 44 appearances - so much for that strong voice for Monmouth in Westminster.

In the longer term, perhaps a nice safe Tory seat over the border may prove more appealing and much safer electorally. Perhaps not, if he keeps opening his mouth and sounding off - even Conservative Central Office which is not necessarily renowned for having limitless patience, may lose its cool with Poster Boy's musings.

I for one, don't believe for one moment that Poster Boy's sounding are off the cuff, or ill-thought out musings. They are very well thought out, carefully crafted and designed to achieve one thing and one thing only - raising Poster Boy's media profile. Poster Boy is not dull, he may not be the shiniest spanner in the toolbox, and is certainly not very subtle, but he is very effective. It is the oxygen of publicity, to lift a phrase from Mrs Thatcher, that Poster Boy craves and desires, which the usual suspects usually give him on a plate.

It works this way, Poster Boy picks something up, sounds off after carefully crafting his prose, sometimes this is picked up straight away, and then all hell breaks lose amongst the usual suspects, and then this is turn is picked up by the media. Poster Boy, having enjoyed a splash of publicity, then rewords what was originally said to state that he had been misunderstood, misquoted, etc - this usually rekindles the frenzy amongst the usual suspects and Poster Boy gets a second bite of the cherry and even, more coverage in the media.

I am reminded by something a senior Conservative in the constituency, was overheard to say at the count in 2005, when said senior Tory muttered something about Poster Boy becoming a good solid Conservative MP, in about 20 years of so, when he matures. Somehow I don't think that Conservative Central Office will wait that long and suspect that Poster Boy's email bin probably contained some well worded, well crafted, well thought out emails from Conservative Central Office. I also suspect that much like Fu Man Chu in the old films, the world may yet hear again more of Poster Boy's well crafted, provocative and decidedly offensive musings in the future...