SIR, I have lived in Monmouth for the past 8 years and have never felt the urge to write to the Beacon before. However, the recent comments and letters from the self interested and self important about the proposed Welcome Centre and the fencing around the Town Hall require a response. It seems that most of the objectors to the Welcome Centre are either market traders themselves and therefore have an axe to grind or regular contributors to your letters page who seem to object to any change whatever that might be. In past years many traders (not just those in the market) have written to the Beacon stating how trade is difficult and making suggestions for improvement. So why not get as many tourists as possible over the new bridge and get them to part with their money in the town – the Welcome Centre would be a really good focal point for this particularly if overseas visitors are to be encouraged. For example I have a friend who runs 'Dr Who' tours all over South Wales, visiting the locations that have been used. He would like to use Monmouth as a lunch stop but feels the town is not remotely geared up for coach parties so he takes his tourists elsewhere which is a shame as they usually spend a fortune. Talking of 'Dr Who', let me move on to the fencing around the Town Hall. It seems the fencing was put up early because certain officials knew 'Dr Who' was coming to film in Monmouth and the fencing was a requirement of the BBC for health and safety reasons. These officials would have also been sworn to secrecy and even many members of the Town and County councils may have not known. For someone like Stuart Wilson to try and make political capital out of the situation is frankly ridiculous when it only took me five minutes on the Internet to find out the BBC were going to be filming at Monmouth means that he had no excuse for not checking his facts. He also clearly did not read the listed building consent given for the fencing irrespective of what CADW had recommended. Finally, I would like to see the current market either abolished or moved to a place where it is out of sight of the tourists as at the current time I think it just looks tacky wherever it is (please note I am not referring to the Farmers Market here). The Town Hall could then be used for all sorts of activities and events that could be used to draw the tourists in – maybe a Medieval Festival & Market, a celebration of the birth of King Henry V etc. The possibilities are endless. In short Monmouth, tourism is your future, Change and accept it or watch the town die. Richard Essery (Monmouth)
