MADAM,

Your very good letters page in the Beacon of 4th July is evidence that Monmouthshire County Council seems to have no difficulty spending time and money but finds great difficulty in producing results.

For Church Street in Monmouth, a string of meetings and reports extend back 17 years but still fail to resolve access for all without destroying the vitality of the town. Unfortunately this is not the only example of spending our money with no result. Here are more:

Consultant reports, officer reports and working groups on the re-design of Agincourt Square and Monnow Street, meant to create quality places to balance the interests of pedestrians and cars, stretch back to 2008. MCC last met community groups in November 2017 and the Town Council in March this year. No design results so far. No delivery on the ground.

Three years of working groups and officer reports to arrange urgent extra public parking off Wye Bridge Street. No car park so far.

Four years of officer reports, consultations and committee meetings on whether and where to relocate the children’s play space on Chippenham Green. Four years on and three changes of site later, no new play space to replace the pollution and isolation of the present site.

Reports commissioned five years ago from consultants on the comprehensive redevelopment of the Cattle Market and sites along the river. 18 months since a first phase design to landscape the car parks on this major (and dreadfully poor) entrance to the town. Still no results.

No doubt part of the council’s answer will be “but this all takes time”. But as we all know, time, whether consultant reports, officer reports and committee meetings, is money and it is our money from Income Tax and Council Tax.

Is it not time that we saw value for money from the County Council? Any other business, including Church Street traders, would be expected to deliver for what we pay – or go out of business.

David Farnsworth

(Trellech)