Placemaking plans approved to guide regeneration across south-east Wales

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans intended to set out how two towns and a large village can be regenerated have been approved by councillors. 

The placemaking plans are intended to set out a vision for the future of Magor and neighbouring village Undy, which have a shared town council, as well as Abergavenny and Monmouth. Plans for Caldicot, Chepstow and Usk have already been approved. 

The placemaking plans are required to qualify for the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns fund which has provided around £750,000 each year, for the past three years, through Monmouthshire County Council to support town projects. 

Councillor Paul Griffiths, the council’s Labour cabinet member for the economy, said the ongoing work on their development plans, which is a joint process between the area’s county councillors and the town councils that have formed steering groups, mean all have been able to benefit from the Transforming Towns funding. 

Ongoing projects include restoration of the Plas Gunter mansion in Abergavenny, revamping Monmouth’s Shire Hall and the Rainbow Cafe in Chepstow that houses the community fridge. 

He said the UK Government announced, in October, it would match the Welsh Government’s funding through its Pride in Place programme.

Monmouthshire has agreed the funds should be combined and Cllr Griffiths said the local steering groups told “not too fret too much whether the money is from Pride in Place or Transforming Towns as they assess their priorities.” 

Cllr Griffiths, a former Welsh Government advisor who told his cabinet colleagues he was involved in the recommendation towns should put Placemaking Plans together to set out how regeneration money could be used, said he was “surprised” at the announcement from the UK government as town centre regeneration is deveolved. 

But he said while he considered how government above the council work together to be “all over the place” he said: “As local government we will do what we always do and make sense of it at a local level.” 

Cllr Griffiths said the plans have been developed through the local steering groups and told his cabinet colleagues: “They do not belong to you but the members of the steering groups and the people of our towns who all came together to make them.” 

The Chepstow councillor also said he considers towns to be crucial to Monmouthshire with around 60 per cent of the county’s population living within the six towns and “a higher proportion within a three mile radius of one” and identify with a local town. 

The plans set out how Magor and Undy should maximise their location on the Gwent Levels and heritage assets as well as transport links while Abergavenny’s plan focuses on making the town centre “people friendly” and Monmouth’s highlights heritage assets in the town centre and access to the two rivers, the Wye and the Monnow, that run through it.