Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a controversial piece of land that had scuppered the dreams of a few developers is on the market!

The two acre plot at the end of Dixton Road has been the subject of planning applications going back to 1989. The first mention of a fast food outlet in 2013 was met with mixed feelings by residents, mostly unfavourable.The site is now being marketed by Rapleys for a price thought to be close to £1 million.The four page marketing brochure promises a "highly prominent two-acre roundabout site with extensive frontage to the A40 dual carriageway on the edge of the Monmouth conurbation." It adds: "the site is allocated for development by Monmouthshire County Council (MCC)," noting "there is no live consent in place."The brochure goes on to say that the site comprises of an undeveloped piece of land at the apex of the junction with the A40 and Dixton Road, “currently surrounded by trees and bushes which could be removed to enhance the visibility of any new buildings to an extremely high volume of traffic.It goes on to say: “Extensive discussions have been held with the planning authority and it is believed that consent for a pub and hotel would be forthcoming, although other uses would also be considered.”It was in August that MCC’s planning committee finally killed off the idea of a pub and restaurant with two bulky goods retail units on the overgrown site adjacent to the A40.The last idea was in a 2017 application when Avenbury Ventures applied for an out-of-town shopping experience boldly named ‘Nelson Place’ and a promise of 55 jobs for the town, which failed.Phil Robinson of the Gateway to Wales Action group said that the sale of this site by two major companies and the refusal of detailed planning permission “supports our claim that this site is unsuitable for commercial development.“This is now an opportunity for another interested party to create a non commercial facility that is more in keeping with this prominent Gateway to Wales location and beneficial to Monmouth.”One wonders where we would be now if the 1991 application for a drive-thru restaurant, petrol filling station and 40-bed hotel allowed at appeal had gone ahead.