AT least two new national chain clothing stores are speculated to be opening in Monmouth's high street in the near future.

There is speculation that the old Choices store, which began rennovations last week, may be a venue for the clothing brand Crew, possibly as early as August this year.

The grade-two listed building, which has been empty for around two years, has had its refurbishment funded by the Village Alive Trust, a Monmouth-based building conservation charity.

The Village Alive Trust is also planning to hold an exhibition in the building in July to inform the public of its projects and available grants.

There are also rumours that one of the several empty storefronts on Monnow Street may house clothing brand Next and possibly the small chain JoJo Maman Bebe.

The original plans for the new arcade and multiple shops with access to the Nelson Gardens on Monnow Street have reportedly been vastly scaled down to possibly only two premises, one of which may also be filled by a national chain.

Vice chairman of Monmouth's Chamber of Trade and Commerce Andrew Knapp has mixed feelings about the possible developments.

"Monmouth is becoming a desirable location for shoppers," he said.

"But wouldn't it be lovely to get some fantastic local shops. We have independent butchers, a longstanding grocer, a new delhi and various bakeries, but we want to try to persuade local people to enter the market and take on new premises."

As well as vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Andrew heads The Best of Monmouth and is a local expert on small and independent businesses.

It is this love of local that has Andrew wary of too many chain stores in Monmouth.

"Monmouth is a great story in that it is bucking the trend of small towns; we don't have a vast amount of empty shops," he said.

"Waitrose coming to town 12 years ago has brought other quality shops and retailers to the area, but it would be nice for people to have more options.

"We want to keep the blend of local and national shops and preserve Monmouth's flavour of local presence.

"We need to try to keep the equilibrium and to do so we need to support local, buy local and keep us staying viable.

"Monmouthshire can't afford to become a dormitory town. There's lots of house building but not an increase in infastructure with it.

"We need jobs for local people and local businesses, but it needs to be built into planning. There aren't enough business units around at sensible prices. There are undeveloped sites and I encourage Monmouthshire County Council to look at them.

"There's always going to be a turnover, but we as a town are so lucky to have a small number. Small businesses are good for everyone."