A TOTAL of 561 people completed the online questionnaire last year, which asked them about changes to Monnow Street - now residents are being asked again.

Monmouth has been embroiled in a long discussion as to what’s to become of the town’s high street, and the council is looking for the best way to proceed.Larger projects such as this are usually developed over several years from concept through to design and then is dependent on the approval of funding from Welsh Government for the construction phase.Monmouth had trialled a one-way system through Monnow Street for the duration of the Agincourt Square works, this proved to be vastly unpopular and was the least favoured option in the first consultation. During Monday’s full town council meeting (January 24) Cllr Jaime Treharne clarified to the group that the one-way system was only put in place to facilitate the Agincourt Square development and not as a result of Covid measures, as some have believed.The results of the first consultation indicated that the majority of people who answered wanted some kind of change to how Monnow Street is laid out.Plans for alternative cycle routes through town were also left out of the new consultation round as they are not eligible for Welsh Government active travel funding. Those options have been removed to avoid any delay to the changes being implemented.As a result of the information from the first consultation, all options offered up maintain the two-way high street and no alternative cycle path.The options facing Monmouth visitors and residents today are the following:Option A: Making permanent the current layout which can be seen through Monnow St.Option B: Making permanent the current layout which can be seen through Monnow St, but with a separate cycle lane incorporated on the pavement.Option C: Retain only loading and disabled parking along Monnow St, which will allow more space for pedestrians and cyclists.Option D: Similar to option A but with a shared space provided for pedestrians and cyclists. Cyclists will be able to choose whether to cycle on the shared space or on the road with traffic.Residents can have their say on how the future of Monnow Street looks and functions by visiting monmouthshire.gov.uk/monnow-street-consultation-2 and choosing their preferred options.A second round of consultation process will hopefully allow more voices to be heard on the issue of the Monnow Street changes. Many people came forward with complaints that they were not made away of the first consultation process, which has such a big impact on those living and working in Monmouth, including several contributors to the Beacon’s letters page.Monmouth Chamber of Commerce chair Sherren McCabe-Finlayson was unhappy that the Chamber had not been invited to express the views of their members.Monmouth town councillor Jane Lucas expressed concerns at Monday’s full council meeting, over the reduction in parking and the shops’ need for it.