Plans approved for cattle market

Abergavenny mart would be replaced by a new one near Raglan

Plans for a new cattle market, which would replace a town's historic mart, have been approved by councillors.

Monmouthshire council wants to close Abergavenny market and open a new one 10 miles (16km) away near Raglan.

Campaigners have fought the closure of the near 150-year-old mart, organising a petition and demonstration.

Monmouthshire council has said the Abergavenny mart was not "fit for purpose" and would need millions of pounds spent on it.

The council plans to build a retail park, which would include an Asda supermarket and a library, on the site.

Some people in the town fear the scheme would lead to a decline in visitors and trade for local shops.

Councillors voted to decide Abergavenny's historic livestock market's fate on Tuesday

But the director of Abergavenny Market Auctioneers Ltd, Keith Spencer, has said many market users welcomed the project, and worried that its failure would leave the council short of finance for the new market they needed.

The council's planning committee granted planning permission on Tuesday afternoon for the new livestock market at Bryngwyn. Planners had recommended approval.

Councillor Bob Greenland, Monmouthshire's deputy leader with responsibility for regeneration, welcomed the decision.

He explained a original decision last year to grant permission was quashed following a challenge by a local landowner, but the revised application had dealt with the problem.

He added: "It is of course possible, even likely, that someone will seek to delay the process again through a request for a judicial review.

"If that happens, I am sure the council will defend the action through to its conclusion. We have taken every precaution to ensure that such a challenge would not succeed.

"We have consulted with our lawyers and a leading planning barrister to try to prevent any further delay."