News from MMG: This three-year project to create and conserve wildflower grasslands in Wales comes to an end in December.  The small team have achieved some significant successes, with new meadows groups created and supported and many training courses run across the country.  Monmouthshire Meadows Group was involved at the beginning, talking to groups about how we started (nearly 20 years ago), and we hosted some of their training courses for our members.  Although the project is ending and their staff are moving on, their legacy remains in the materials they have created.  In particular their Meadows Hub has a wealth of information about creating, managing and surveying wildflower grassland, and information about seeds, tools and equipment.  They have also uploaded many of their webinars to their YouTube channel so if you missed any you wanted to see, they are there to watch.

A Monmouthshire County Council public consultation launches on Wednesday 5 October for residents and businesses in and around Chepstow to gather feedback on ideas being proposed within the Transforming Chepstow Masterplan.

The County Council, working with Chepstow Town Council, is holding two initial face-to-face events and is encouraging locals to attend to find out more and share their thoughts. The first session is taking place on Saturday 8 October at the Palmer Centre, Upper Nelson Street, from 10am until 5pm. On Tuesday 11 October the team will also be at Bulwark Community Centre between 10am and 8pm. Exhibition boards from these two events will then be available to view at Chepstow Library from the afternoon of Wednesday 12 October.

Information about the Transforming Chepstow Masterplan can be found on the Council’s website at https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/transforming-chepstow-masterplan/ along with a link to the online survey, for capturing views and comments. The survey will also be available in a paper format at the two face-to-face sessions, and throughout the consultation period (until 5pm, 30 October 2022) from Chepstow Library and the offices of Chepstow Town Council.

The consultation follows and builds upon part of a Place Plan process during 2020 to 2021.  Once the consultation has closed and the feedback gathered, a report of consultation will be published. The draft plan will then be updated to reflect the comments that were received, and a final copy of the Transforming Chepstow Masterplan will be made available online.