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local Government minister, Carl Sargeant, has announced that the Abergavenny Improvement Acts (1854 – 1871) are to be repealed is bad news.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.
Showing posts with label The town centre at the heart of the community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The town centre at the heart of the community. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 January 2012
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.
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