Agenda item

We noted the action list of the meeting held on 28^th July 2016.

County Councillor R.J.W. Greenland addressed the Council in order to provide an update on the new Morrisons site in Abergavenny.  He thanked officers for pursuing the matter to this final position, especially noting the hard work of the Head of Community Led Delivery, D. Hill-Howells.

We noted the following press release:

“On Thursday 22^nd September Monmouthshire County Council and supermarket chain Morrisons signed a lease to finalise plans for a supermarket to be built on the cattle market site in Abergavenny.  The long awaited agreement will now allow the process to begin.  The structure of the agreement is in line with that previously agreed. However, the financial payments have been varied to reflect the change in market conditions since the contract was originally entered into in 2010.  A premium of £13,750,000 has been paid and rental payments of £160,000 per annum will be payable from February 2018 for a period of 25 years.  Both MCC and Morrisons are keen to move development of the site forward and a planning application for an amended supermarket scheme has been received by our planning authority.  The planning team are awaiting information to support the application and public consultation will commence as soon as these are received.  Our planning officers expect to receive the information and plans in a fortnight from today and aim to report the application to Decembers Planning Committee meeting.”

The Cabinet Member also expressed thanks to the senior executives of Morrisons who had helped push the matter forward.

Members were satisfied with the news and looked forward to the increase in footfall and prosperity and the overall confidence of Abergavenny.

Members acknowledged the work of the Cabinet Member in the process

It was emphasized that we could not foresee the outcome of the planning application, and any members requiring further detail could contact the Head of Community Led Delivery directly.

Emergency Motion

The Chair welcomed County Councillor R. Greenland who presented the following emergency motion:

Monmouthshire County Council agrees to support the 2017 Velothon coming through the County, providing the roads closed for the amateur race are re-opened as soon as practical after the amateur cyclists have passed through.  We would also welcome the professional race but only on a rolling road closure basis thus limiting the inconvenience to residents.

In moving the motion, Councillor Greenland highlighted the following points:

·         It was agreed the issue of toilets had previously been a problem and organisers would double the toilet provision.

·         Green zones would be placed around Monmouthshire and competitors would be urged to dispose of litter in these areas.

·         It had been agreed that there could be road closures between the amateur and professional races however another proposal was made that the road closure should stop following the amateur riders passing through.  This could be dealt with by a rolling road closure.  Police would close side roads, which would then be kept closed by volunteers.  The roads would immediately re-open when the race has gone through, moving along with the race.  This would overcome the vast majority of complaints regarding road closures.

During debate we noted the following points:

·         The motion demonstrates we are listening to constituents. However, there is a need for effective communication to ensure people can make appropriate arrangements.

·         The motion did not reflect the previous request for consideration of the start and finish being in Newport, which would be of more benefit to Monmouthshire.  It was noted that the Chief Executive had made the comments in relation to the 2018 Velothon, which would continue to be discussed.

·         A Member stressed that as well as doubling the number of toilets, consideration needed to be given to where they would be situated.

·         We noted that the Velothon would not clash with the Abergavenny Cycle Race. 

·         A Member drew contrast between the Velothon with the Severn Bridge Half Marathon event which had been partly in Monmouthshire.  This had been a well-organised event with no problems, and a complete litter pick had been completed within 24 hours. 

Councillor Greenland clarified that if the Velothon organisers were not prepared to use rolling road closures across the county, we were not prepared, as a Council, to allow the Velothon to come through the county in 2017.

The motion was duly seconded, and upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried.