EMPTY shops and rising parking charges will be on the agenda at an urgent public meeting next week, called by concerned Chepstow residents.
The meeting will be held from 7pm on Monday, February 3 at the Beaufort Hotel in Chepstow town centre.
The agenda will include discussions on the best way to use space at a currently derelict Herbert Lewis building on the town’s high street, as well as proposals for a cheaper annual parking ticket for those working in the town.
One of the main organisers of the meeting, business owner and mother-of-two Susan Williams, said she decided something had to be done after becoming “bored” and “fed up” of living there.
“Not enough people stop here and walk around the town, and that is reflected in what has been left here,” Ms Williams said.
The Herbert Lewis building has been unused since June 2018
“I love charity shops but prominent space on the high street is being taken up by so many of them and they are not appealing to enough people.
"We get lovely little stores at the town's market each month, and it would be great if some of those could be given a more permanent home in Herbert Lewis."
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Ms Williams, who ran a clothes store on the high street for a year until the landlord of the property sold it two years ago, now runs a clothes agency from her home in Chepstow, and says business rates have become too high for individual business owners to take risks.
“I’d love to have my own store again, but I can’t take that chance of having to pay thousands of pounds a month to run a store when I have two children to look after,” she said.
“If individual business owners can’t take the risk, and big companies don’t want to set up here, we’ll be left with nothing.
“We’re not asking for a Primark or a McDonalds, but we need support in order to lower business rates and parking charges."
Residents have already expressed concerns after a rise in council charges for car parking across Monmouthshire.
Monmouthshire council has paused car parking charges at Chepstow Train Station until new signs can be put up
“People who come into the town to work are providing a valuable service and they should get seasonal yearly passes that are cheaper than the standard four-hour ticket," Ms Williams said.
She added that the situation has even led to her mother, who has lived in the area all of her life, considering moving away.
“It isn’t even appealing to elderly people anymore – let alone youngsters,” she said, "It’s become a boring place to live.”
The meeting is free to attend and will begin at 7pm at the Beaufort Hotel, Chepstow on Monday, February 3.
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