SIR, The proposed market at Raglan is estimated to cost £3.1 million; will it pay? I don't think so. Farmers say the livestock market at Abergavenny doesn't pay now and the through put of stock will have to be doubled to make it pay. Does the £3.1 million cover everything for the site including the proposed alterations and upgrading to the roads and to the roundabout? A 10% cost of rent and running costs would be £300,000 plus at least £100,000 for the Auctioneers costs to run it. This means a total of £400,000 a year, or £8,000 a week. The Auctioneers will need to ask Mr David Handley to negotiate a 2% extra -commission charge to make it pay with the farmers and they will need to make at least £80,000 to £100,000 per year on activities other than a livestock market. Is there something they aren't telling us? Are the farmers actually interested in having the market at Raglan? A total of 2100 questionnaires were sent out, only one fifth replied - four-fifths did not commit themselves to a market at Raglan. We are told that there are approximately 1400 farming businesses in Monmouthshire, so a third of the questionnaires were sent to farmers outside the County. The moving of the market from Abergavenny to Raglan does not make sense to me, as the people from around Abergavenny will have a further nine miles to travel. Moving nine miles closer to Ross will not gain anything as the farmers on the Valleys' side of Abergavenny will opt to travel to Brecon, Talgarth or Talybont, unless the prices offered at Raglan are considerably better. Once the new Hereford market is open then farmers all around Abergavenny will have the option of going there too. The farmers around Monmouth will also have the choice of travelling to either Ross or Hereford. What detailed business plans have the Abergavenny Market Auctioneers got with Monmouthshire County Council? If there is no business plan between the parties then the application should not be considered as this is 'putting the cart before the horse' What will Raglan gain on having the Market: nothing positive I would say. Some people are of the impression that it will increase business and employment here in Raglan. Mr Keith Spencer didn't seem to think that there would be any increase in employment when he addressed the meeting held at Raglan Community Centre recently. The situation as far as traffic is concerned is very negligible, according to Abergavenny Market Auctioneers. They say that only three or four farmers' vehicles will come up the Chepstow Road. If this is the case, then how will a new market survive? It may only be three or four vehicles now, but what will happen when Newport Market closes? Farmers from the Chepstow area will come up the Chepstow Road if the market is to be at Raglan. Farmers are already good customers of the businesses in Raglan Village, It's these small businesses who, in turn, support the farmers. Are the farmers going to gain from a new supermarket in Abergavenny - the supermarkets are not the farmers' friend! As far as the site at Little Castle Farm is concerned, it has been stated in the planning application that it is a wholly brownfield site, but that's not the case as part of the site is definitely greenfield. Other applications on old poultry farm sites have been considered as being wholly greenfield, one could argue the same for here, surely. Finally, I am glad to see that Mr Turner has no financial interest whatsoever in this development, probably you could find better investments. It appears that no other local farmers are willing to invest either. CADW, I think would prefer to see this site as an open space.

Cllr Dilwyn Watkins (Raglan).