THE new livestock market for Monmouthshire should be up and running as soon as, or shortly after, Abergavenny's cattle market closes.

This was the reassurance given at last week's cabinet meeting of Monmouthshire County Council when it was agreed the council should now be in the driving seat.

Until then the project had been driven by the Abergavenny Market Auctioneers Ltd (AMAL), and they will remain as advisers to the council. They hit snags in trying to achieve a December deadline for planning permission for the new market to be built on a site in Raglan, which is their preferred option.

Permission has already been given for a replacement market at Llanfoist, as part of the Westgate Business Park development, but this option is strongly opposed by the auctioneers.

The hold-up with the Raglan scheme is because of concerns from the Environment Agency and CADW, with regard to its proximity to Raglan Castle, and these have yet to be resolved.

Cllr Chris Woodhouse, cabinet member for the environment, reassured members that the council was still striving to deliver a seamless transition between old and new markets. "But we have to trust the planning committee as to where the replacement market will be sited. Officers have better communication so let's hope we can catch up." Director of finance Steve Greenslade said the timescale was tight as planning permission would not be sorted before the end of March and it would take six months to build the new market.

Cllr Peter Fox said: "We are all agreed we need this new market. Farming is the backbone of the rural community and the fabric on which Monmouthshire grew and we can't lose sight of that."

But Cllr Pam Birchall disagreed with the council's commitment of £3m towards the cost of building the new market. She said: "There are 900 farms in Monmouthshire and we are asking 54,000 households to support farmers of Monmouthshire by spending £3million.

"This money belongs to all of Monmouthshire and should be spent on bringing roads up to standard or enlarging our swimming pools."

Council get market plans

THE plans for the redevelopment of Abergavenny Cattle Market have been lodged with Monmouthshire County Council.

George Ashworth, head of planning, said they were received on Friday evening and will be available for the public to see at the one-stop shop from today. See next week's Free Press for illustrations and a full