With local elections fast approaching, Monmouth Town Council has now entered the pre-election period which limits the activity of the council in the build up to elections. This starts today March 16, 2022 and will run until the date of the election, May 5 2022.

This year has already been a busy one for the council with a number of interesting and exciting matters being discussed at meetings.

Old Monnow Bridge: MTC has secured the services of a local exterior cleaning company, H2O Cleaning Services, to clean the gate house of the Old Monnow Bridge from bird waste and algae and to also clean the footpaths and road surface on the bridge on Sunday, March 20 2022.

This work will be done early Sunday morning to reduce the disturbance in the area.

The bridge will not be closed to pedestrians but access will be limited to the pavements only whilst the cleaning is in progress.

As a town we are very proud of our historic bridge and MTC hopes that working with H2O will ensure it continues to look its best throughout the year.

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: Due to the timing of the elections, the council will not be organising a celebration to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in May. Instead, the council has committed £15,000 to support local communities, groups or individuals who want to mark the occasion with their own celebration. This fund is open to all and will ensure that such a momentous occasion can be celebrated across the town in a number of different ways. So, if you plan to have a street party, a community picnic or to plant a tree as a reminder of the day, please contact us to find out more about how our grant scheme could help.

Monmouth Litter Group: Since September 2021, the Monmouth Litter Group has been working closely with the Sixth Form students from Monmouth Comprehensive School to promote the need to “Love Monmouth, Hate Litter”.

This has been done through engaging with local businesses who are displaying the slogan on stickers in their shop windows, the students carrying out litter picks, in-school competitions being held that address the impact of litter on our town and soon there will be videos produced by the students that will be used to promote their campaign against litter.

The efforts of the students and the litter group were recently commended by the council with councillors excited about what the work of the group will mean for reducing litter in Monmouth.

Welsh Ambulance Services Trust: At a recent meeting, the council condemned the decision to potentially remove the ambulance service from Monmouth stating that such a decision could seriously impact a town already isolated in respect of health service and that, as a rural community, the decision coupled with a cut in facilities at Nevill Hall and no direct route to the new hospital in Cwmbran does not send a good message to the residents of Monmouth. It was agreed the council would write a letter to the Welsh Ambulance Trust expressing the Council’s dismay over the decision.

Monmouth Town Council members strive to represent the residents of Monmouth on a number of different matters. If there is something that you feel should be addressed by the council, please contact us on [email protected] or, ensure your voice is heard by voting in the local elections in May.