BUSINESSES in Abergavenny are fearful for their trade after plans to convert a former tourist information centre (TIC) were submitted.

The application seeks to build a café and a fish and chips restaurant within the council-owned building on Monmouth Road, which has been vacant since 2014.

Floor space would be shared by the two businesses, with a shared kitchen, preparation room, potato peeling room and a storage room planned in.

Plans have also been set out to install sliding doors and windows to link the indoor eating area with a proposed outdoor area.

The new hybrid eatery would employ three full-time and four part-time employees and would serve both the morning and evening trades, opening from 9am until 9pm.

Since the original TIC’s duties were transferred to the nearby Tithe Barn on Monk Street, permission to change the building’s use from a business office to a food and drink outlet was granted in January 2016.

Carleton Hughes, owner of the Oasis Sandwich Bar across the road, had then objected to the change in use and holds his views to this day.

“I’ve been here for 30 years and there’s always been a lot of cafés and restaurants here, there’s definitely an element of saturation,” he said.

“With this being just over the road of course I feel threatened. If people get off the bus in the rain, they’ll want to go there under cover instead of waiting in a queue here. It just doesn’t seem fair.”

Mr Hughes added that it would also adversely affect cafés and restaurants further up the high street.

Debbie Darnborough owns the child-friendly coffee-shop, The Play Den, just around the corner.

Having moved to Abergavenny from Usk to avoid stark business rate hikes, she said: “It would be a big problem for myself if this goes ahead.”

“With the number of coffee shops we have here, you always strive to be unique to stand out. I just think the town needs to think about what it wants.”

According to Mrs Darnborough, a petition by a fellow trader has been passed around objecting to the plans.