SIR,
I walked past the Shire Hall on a Saturday morning recently and was reminded what a splendid building it is.
But can you imagine any market town in Europe having such a magnificent heritage and then locking it away from locals and visitors alike?
Fortuitously, I then had an opportunity to speak with one of our county councillors who told me that Monmouth wasn't a postcard town and furthermore restoring the Shire Hall to its original design meant that not all stall holders could access the undercover area.
They also, helpfully, informed me that although there was apparently overwhelming support to bring the market back to the Shire Hall, this was completely at odds with Monmouthshire County Council's own survey.
What a load of rubbish. Why wouldn't we want to promote Monmouth as a beautiful town and use our buildings to their best advantage?
There is a wealth of opinion in these letter columns suggesting that the elected officers do not appear to be acting in the best interests of the general public.
In this respect we only have ourselves to blame.
Local elections achieve a poor turnout of voters and inevitably we end up with 'enthusiasts' with little or no business experience.
Next time we have the opportunity to put someone into a position of authority we must question them about their motives and objectives – and when they get elected we must relentlessly ensure that they deliver.
We can easily put the future in our hands and not in the hands of those who have let us down so badly in the past.
Nigel Williams
(Trellech)