Traders of a beleaguered Monmouth street have now seen some progress towards efforts to recreate the once-vibrant shopping experience it brought to the town.

Local businesses, politicians and council officers met to look at both short-term and long-term solutions to improve the appearance of the street.

Local restaurateur Ben Price, who has been spearheading the campaign to improve the area said that traders had been angry, hitting hurdle after hurdle with no council support.

He added “We had a great turnout, and it’s incredibly reassuring to see that we are all on the same page regarding the future of our street, and surrounding areas.”

The two Members of the Senedd present committed to look into any Business Rate Relief for these businesses, the Monmouth Town Council said they will try and get the ambient street lights and proposed Steel decorative archway for the street up as soon as possible and Monmouthshire County Council officers and the Heritage officer committed to better communication with businesses, and regular updates on any building progression, as well as any potential scope to issue fines for works not being carried out in reasonable timeframes.

Laura Anne Jones MS, said: “Businesses have been kept in the dark for too long without timelines for works and with a lack of information about the scaffolding and when it will go, and it feels like we may have turned a corner, all now committing to working together cross/party and cross-government, with some urgency, to ensure that we can get this stunning part of Monmouth back to its full former glory as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, MP Catherine Fookes has supported the campaign saying “I’ll be doing everything I can to help get this resolved quickly. I have come away from meetings with a set of actions to help make sure that work on the building is completed and the scaffolding is taken down as soon as possible.”