SIR,

The Monmouth market fiasco appears to be never ending.

Is it not time for this matter to be discussed in a public meeting so that everyone can understand what is going on?

It would appear that Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) officials have hoped that by stonewalling, the whole problem will disappear.

There has been a great deal of misinformation with one of our county councillors even writing to a constituent stating that the majority of the traders wish to stay in the car park at the bottom of town. This is blatantly untrue.

The facts of the matter are as follows.

The original traders were promised they would return to Agincourt Square and 10 wish to do so, with four stating a desire to remain in the car park.

Of the current traders in the market, 13 wish to return to the square and five wish to remain where they are.

Sixty independent retailers have signed a petition demanding the return of the market to Agincourt Square and will attest to the fact that their business has suffered as a result of the market not being in the square.

A petition has been signed by 3,000 people requesting the return of the market to the square.

The Shire Hall business plan which has miraculously appeared believes that the Shire Hall will be hired out for weddings at £1,000 a time and the market will detract from the appeal of the venue.

In order to generate enough net revenue to compensate for the loss of revenue that the market would generate they would have to have a minimum of 20 weddings per annum.

This does not take into account the additional business that the market brought to the retailers when it was in the square.

In addition, if only one retail outlet was forced to close, the loss of rates paid would equate to the net revenue generated by the hoped for wedding venue sales.

It would appear that the non-elected county council officials are dictating policy to our supine elected representatives.

Our ubiquitous MP David Davies who is usually quick to jump on every band wagon is strangely silent; our AM Nick Ramsay conveniently claims he cannot do anything until after the Assembly elections; our four local councillors Liz Hackett-Pain, Bob Hayward, Sue White and Alan Wintle appear to be unconcerned and are making no comments.

The return of the market to Agincourt Square is not merely for the benefit of the market traders, it is vital to the future prosperity of Monmouth.

We are in a difficult economic climate and if Monmouth is to remain a vibrant, viable and successful town we must ensure that the centre of the town is alive and attractive to residents and visitors alike.

I would appeal to everyone who cares about this issue to support this campaign by putting pressure on the powers that be so that at last they can see sense.

Lets have a public meeting.

Neill Bell

(Monmouth)