MCC planners have written to interested parties to tell them that it will now be late Summer 2022 before a report on options for progressing the Replacement Local Development Plan is presented to the Council for a decision on how to proceed.  This follows major concerns that were raised by Welsh Government officials in response to last summer’s consultation, which were discussed at a special Select Committee meeting in December.

The Welsh Government officials, like several local community organisations in the county, considered that MCC’s proposed level of growth did not conform with policies in Future Wales: the National Plan 2040.

The results of both the first and second calls for Candidate Sites put forward by landowners or developers are now available at Monmouthshire Replacement Local Development Plan Second Call for Candidate Sites Register – Monmouthshire.  Comments on these will not be accepted at this stage; they will be assessed and available to comment at a later stage.

Local businessman, Ben Jones, apparently with the support of the Gwent Wildlife Trust, has written to the Abergavenny Chronicle about his proposal for an 80 acre wetland nature reserve on County Council land adjoining the waste transfer site at Llanfoist.  Welsh Water are already interested in the possibility of using the reserve to extra cleanse storm surge water from their treatment plant.  Ben and the Trust are seeking volunteer support initially to persuade MCC to back the plan and eventually to help manage the reserve – contact info@gwentwildlife.org.