Sir, It was an interesting meeting in the Raglan Community Centre to understand the proposal for the replacement Abergavenny Livestock Market at Pen y parc, Raglan. There was a solid core of farmers in support, a vociferous element against and a large number to listen to the proposal. The objections centred mostly on the infamous Raglan traffic congestion and the potential for further developments on the proposed site. I am confident that all the through traffic for the proposed site could easily avoid the village centre, but the trick is to ensure that it actually does. There will undoubtedly be some additional light traffic to the Raglan High Street, but we cannot blame farmers for this any more than we can blame the Raglan Golf Club, the recently extended Puddleducks Nursery, or the school parents who drive to the village. Raglan is well blessed with excellent local services for its size, it's one of the best things about living here but these services come with a cost and part of this is the traffic generated by people driving in to utilize the services. There were pertinent points raised about the absence of a pedestrian footway to the site, tailbacks of market traffic entering the site onto the Raglan roundabout, and the issue of large livestock vehicles passing the school and unable to negotiate a congested High Street. One hopes the Highways Dept can develop a priority pedestrian footway at Pen y Parc which will enable passing of large vehicles, change the road priorities at the Pen y Parc junction to avoid tailbacks, and introduce an intelligent version of the 'Llanfoist slalom' to deter long vehicles from entering the village from the Chepstow Road. A livestock market will still be unfortunate for residents of Pen y Parc, but other developments could be far worse. One wit suggested we went straight to an Asda Store and cinema complex and skipped the intervening stage. I feel the residents and the rest of the village deserve re-assurance on the control of extended use on the proposed and adjacent sites. There was some resentment at the meeting over being confronted with a 'fait accompli'; and at Monmouthshire Council's ability to sponsor large developments within clear view of Raglan Castle. I personally doubt if the sights of Puddleduck's nursery or a livestock market will detract from anyone's enjoyment of the castle, but all of Raglan village within sight of the castle is classified as a conservation area - where one can hardly take a brick out of a wall without conservation planning approval. Its totally unfair and Orwellian treatment - the Raglan conservation area should be restricted to the historic heart of the village and the activities of the conservation officers should be conserved. Farmers have had hard times recently and a new livestock market would be good news for the industry. Once upon a time what was good for farming would be good for Raglan. The village is now a commuting and retirement centre more than a farming service centre, but even some of us commuters and pensioners have farming connections and sympathies. We should concentrate on alleviating specific traffic issues and preventing unsuitable developments and accept the principle of a livestock market at Raglan. John Bromley (Raglan).
