To Monmouthshire County Council

I APPRECIATE this will be an unwelcome letter, but I need to state my case clearly so that there is no misunderstanding — either from you or from any colleagues you may share this with. I also want these words, written in my role as Chamber President, to be formally recorded so that there is a paper trail in future.

This letter has been reviewed by my fellow members, who are in full agreement with its contents and support me in sending it and wish this to be aired to a wider stage.

As you know, throughout my 5 and a half years as Chair and now President, I have never hesitated to fight for the businesses I represent when I believe it’s necessary. I am deeply passionate about Monmouth — and about our Chamber members and their livelihoods.

At the Placemaking meeting on Monday evening, I made it unequivocally clear that the one thing businesses in Monmouth town centre cannot endure right now is any further highways work or disruption. They have had enough. It has been relentless for nearly six years — a constant cycle of upheaval that they have been forced to undergo.

So, let me be absolutely forthright: if more of this work goes ahead, the local authority will not be regenerating our town — it will be decimating it. Our high street of independent businesses — one of our few remaining USPs alongside our heritage — is hanging by a thread.

Many seem to assume that, with Welsh Water now gone, the damage is behind us. That is far from the truth. The stress and admin of the claims process alone caused further harm to businesses already struggling. In most cases, compensation barely scratched the surface of actual losses.

My point was sadly proven just yesterday morning when I took a call from a long-standing business owner who has made the heartbreaking decision to close their doors. Their reason? Reduced footfall — a direct result, they believe, of Agincourt Street being closed for 19 weeks following on from last year’s disruption. Continuing to trade has proved unsustainable.

Add to that the two years of disruption caused by the unexpected closure of the Barton, and scaffolding in Church Street causing an unsightly and invasive impediment to pedestrians, with little assistance forthcoming from MCC, up until very recently. Where were the signs to guide shoppers from Glendower Street Car Park to Agincourt Square or Church Street? Once again, businesses were left to fend for themselves.

I understand that footfall is down nationally. I understand the economic pressures and reduced disposable income. That’s why it is more important than ever that towns offer something different — not just another homogenised high street. Monmouth’s strength is its uniqueness. If we lose that, we lose everything.

It is often forgotten that small business owners don’t take home a salary — they live off whatever profit they can generate. They carry the burden of stock costs, rents, rates, utilities, fuel, accountancy fees. They juggle VAT returns, late-paying clients, and customer expectations. They often miss holidays, weddings, social occasions, even funerals — because there is no one else to open the shop or office. They work evenings, weekends, early mornings, and when lucky enough to employ staff, they then carry the responsibility of payroll, PAYE, and National Insurance. All of that, before they’ve even paid their own household bills.

What I have noticed — particularly over the last nine months — is just how angry businesses have become. Not frustrated. Not disheartened. Angry. And rightly so.

They are weary of constantly being overlooked, obstructed, and asked to keep surviving in the face of yet another blow. The pressure they are under is immense — and now, even when support is offered, many are too desperate, too close to breaking point, to recognise or receive it. They are not ungrateful. They are drowning.

They no longer want words of reassurance. They want actions that show someone is listening, someone understands, and someone will stop making it harder for them to trade.

During my tenure, I have stood beside our businesses through flood events, the trauma of COVID, the digging up of Agincourt Square — which, as I warned at the time, was detrimental to trade in that area — a failed one-way system trial, and the installation of extended pavements which they hate with a passion. Pavements which now cause flooding directly outside their premises every time it rains. The pretty artist’s impressions created by the consultants are deceptive: they show a flat plain across Monnow Street whereas, in fact, the road cambers to the extent that there is always a slope on the extended pavements, and water run-off will be exacerbated by increased and permanent widening. The drains are completely inadequate to cope with heavy rainfall.

Added to that are the restructuring of Drybridge Street, the works on Wonastow Road, the year-long upheaval by Welsh Water in the town centre, the road slip on the A40, the closure of Wye Bridge, and a long string of consultations that businesses now have zero faith in — either because they feel their views are ignored or because the outcomes bear little resemblance to what’s actually in the town’s best interest.

And now the closure of Agincourt Street, compounding the pain further — and the looming threat of upcoming works on Monnow Street.

It’s no longer a case of death by a thousand cuts. It’s a battering ram to the heart of our town centre.

It is also too easily forgotten that many of these businesses only managed to survive the pandemic by accessing Government Bounce Back Loans — a lifeline at the time, but one that has now become a millstone around their necks. For many, they are only halfway through repaying those loans, with no breathing space and no additional support in sight.

So when further disruption is proposed — however well-intentioned — it isn’t landing on a level playing field. It’s landing on businesses already burdened by years of hardship, financial strain, and mental exhaustion.

I am writing this now, in the final chapter of my Presidency, to ensure that you and your colleagues are under no illusion about the very real, very urgent problems that exist on our high street.

You can help them.

You can choose to listen — not just to my words, but to the voices of the business owners themselves. You can choose to give them the breathing space they so desperately need to recover. You can choose to support them in the way they need to be supported — not by adding yet more disruption, barriers, or consultations, but by removing the obstacles that are dragging them under.

You can also pass this message on — loud and clear — to your colleagues in the Senedd and Westminster: it’s time they stopped treating small and micro businesses as convenient cash cows to bolster public revenue.

The more charges, regulations, and legislative burdens that are placed on them, the more likely they will be pushed into closure and an entire revenue stream from taxation and rates will be lost.

I remember one of the Labour Manifesto pledges was to abolish business rates. Anyone thinking sensibly knew that was never going to happen — but what should happen is a serious, honest review of whether the current system is fair. Why should ‘out-of-town’ retail units benefit from reduced business rates while drawing customers away from our town centres? Why aren’t we taxing them higher, and using that additional revenue to support the heart of our communities?

Local authorities often argue that online shopping is the root cause of the problem. While that's certainly part of the story, the pattern has shifted—and recently, online retail has experienced its biggest slowdown in decades. I've noticed many small online businesses being forced to close in just the past few years.

If high streets are to survive — let alone thrive — then government must stop squeezing the smallest businesses and start backing them properly. Provide meaningful rates relief. Offer real support based on real-life requirements, not unproven hypotheses. Give town centres a fighting chance.

I apologise if I’ve strayed into the political — but I do so only to illustrate a vital point that too often gets ignored.

Another way the Council could offer genuine support is by stopping the practice of forming consortia with other authorities simply for better buying power. Yes, it may make financial sense on paper, but at what cost to the local economy? If you truly want to support Monmouthshire businesses, then start by using them. Invest in them. Champion them. Prioritise county-based suppliers, trades, and services whenever possible. That’s how you create a resilient, local economy — from the inside out.

I do appreciate how difficult your role is — we all carry responsibilities in our own way. But while I still hold this office, I will continue to fight — and to speak — on behalf of the tradespeople, the independent retailers, the service sector, the hospitality professionals, healthcare providers, hairdressers and beauticians, farmers, and producers who form our Chamber membership. Their voices are too often drowned out. Mine will not be.

Monmouth is a very special town. It attracts a wonderfully eclectic mix of people — those who visit, those who stay, those who open businesses and ultimately decide to make this place their home. It is a jewel in the County’s crown, and we should be fiercely proud of our County Town.

But far too often, those who live and work here feel that the Council doesn’t see Monmouth for what it is — or doesn’t value what it has. Because if it did, it would stop trying to alter its character under the banner of progress.

There’s a historic reason Monnow Street was designed the way it was. Any permanent narrowing or redesign of the road disregards centuries of heritage and diminishes the architectural and social importance of the Church Street Quarter and Priory Street in the evolution of this unique place.

It’s striking how alterations to the buildings lining our streets are strictly controlled by the Authority — and yet changes to the road itself are deemed acceptable, simply to follow current trends. Trends which, in five years' time, may be obsolete — but by then, the damage will be done and irreversible.

Instead of pursuing schemes that chip away at the town’s identity, why not focus on initiatives that bring positive benefit? Projects that lift our community, support our businesses, and, most importantly, put a smile back on the faces of the people trying so hard to keep this town alive.

They’ve had enough pressure. What they need now is kindness and consideration — from all of us.

Sherren McCabe-Finlayson

President of Monmouth Chamber of Commerce