Sadness at bar closure SIR, I was very saddened to learn of the closure of the Malt House Tapas bar. As the founding vice chairman of Wye Valley Tourism some time ago, I recognized and recommended that there were deficiencies in the quality and availability of places other than pubs for the visitor and local resident to visit. On a Sunday for instance it was not unusual o see tourists wandering around disconsolately wondering where they could get a tea or coffee. Add into that mix the need for a meeting place where young people below the age of 18 could chat freely over a coke or cup of coffee, keeping them ff the street corners. When the Malt House opened as a Tapas Bar in 2004, it injected a bit of glamour, not least through the ministries of the friendly and often glamorous young Argentinean staff; but through the sheer quality of the surroundings, and the fare on offer. It set a pretty high standard for others to match. I was aware, having assisted occasionally as a go between, that there was a cultural difference in the approach of the proprietors to the issues of planning legislation as opposed to the norm, but they certainly did not fall into the frequently demonstrated category of the multiple that goes in, converts a property, starts trading then through sheer force of financial and legal clout gets their permissions retrospectively, often in the face of existing conservation legislation. I was also aware of a consistent and coordinated campaign against the owners on the ground of nuisance which, given the history of noise and problems from some of the public houses in the town, especially the Griffon in the same road, made the validity fo complaint seem a bit forced to say the least. As a parishioner of St Mary's Catholic Church I can say that we were never inconvenienced by noise or nuisance regardless of the variety of timing for our various services throughout the year. Monmouth is the poorer for the assign of the Tapas Bar, a place that I have even heard recommended among flight staff of both BMI and Easyjet and I feel that reactionary elements have only succeeded in heading a particularly lovely town into yet another backwater of missed opportunity, bored youth and lack of anywhere for a cup of tea at tea time.
Andrew Hubert von Staufer (Mallorca)