The purpose of the Chamber of TradeThe Chamber of Trade works hard in Abergavenny to represent the business community to the best of its ability and to assist in forging good relationships between business people and the local authority, between traders and the public, between business owners and other town groups, and amongst the businesses themselves.
Our mission statement is :
• To ensure that the views of Abergavenny businesses are heard and reflected in the decisions made by our council
• To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and concerns that affect the local business community
• To develop and implement effective strategies to promote the town to its maximum
• To enable local businesses to promote their services through networking activities
• To make available to members a range of business opportunities and special privileges that add discernible value to the concept of membership
Latest News February 2011It is the belief of the Chamber of Trade that successful and well planned regeneration of the town centre is key to the future viability and health of the high street and the town in general.
To this end, in 2011 the Chamber submitted to the Town Council a report that summarised reasons why we believe Morrisons' initial proposal for the redevelopment of the Cattle Market site would be damaging to the health of the town as a retail centre, as well as being likely to mar the ambience and visual appeal of our ancient market town.
After lengthy consultations and research by the Chamber's steering group, an alternative design was tabled which made recommendations for various visual alterations, such as making the roofscape more varied and adding single storey additons to break up a vast 'box' of glass and rendered surfaces. Also suggested was moving the food store building to the edge of Lion Street.
It was felt that this, coupled with suggested add-ons to the ground floor of the building, would create a better fit with the period buildings along that street, and providing a more effective pedestrian link between the food store and the high street. The revised layout was seen as offering a traditional urban small-street-effect instead of a vast car park with a large square retail unit at its centre.
A drawing of this revised option is visible by clicking on the link below.
The Town Council has expressed its support for recommending MCC Planners to consider this option, and the Chamber of Trade is currently collecting consensus votes from its members in order to define its policy unequivocally.
Susi Cernoch 08 February 2011 I have now been provided with a more detailed and informative version of the suggested alternative scheme, which can be seen at the link below, entitled the Enhanced Urban Option. You may find this more helpful and interesting.
09 February 2011 A poll of member’s opinions has been carried out and the outcome was unopposed support for pursuing the Urban Option tabled by ADF. We wish to express our disappointment in Morrisons’ apparent failure to respond respectfully to our concerns during this process. Our policy, which has been expressed throughout the course of this regeneration project, to MCC and latterly to Morrisons, has consistently supported the adoption of a quality scheme that we believe will bring about true regeneration in Abergavenny.
- That the design be more in sympathy with and appropriate to the town’s traditional architecture and its typical roofscape, and that the store be brought forward onto Lion Street, to achieve a streetscape of suitable appearance and scale. We support the belief that this will bring about better linkage with our high street and promote its longevity. - That the inclusion of a coffee shop in the food store be rejected – the town already contains around 20 such establishments, most of which are independent local businesses that we wish to retain and support. - That the developer’s policy on parking charges be sensitively revisited in light of the local authority’s proposed changes to existing parking charges.
18 February 2011 Click here to download Cattle Market urban option layout Click here to download Enhanced drawing of the Urban Option |