Headlines this Festival week in Monmouth

One stop shop car park still not fallen into river

Agincourt Square still open to the town

A boards still out on the streets, while traders look for alternatives

And.............the sun has reappeared!

So it's a pretty good week all round for Monmouth.

The Shire Hall Restoration moves closer.  The work, under the direction of heritage specialists, Linford-Bridgeman is going to take until around December 2009, but we are sure that it is going to be worth waiting for, and the new building will stand proudly as the centre of this lovely town, providing education, community and civic facilities, as well as becoming, we hope a visitor attraction in its own right, and a prestigious meeting place for business and other organisations.

One of the best things is going to be the marvellous new lift which will stop at all of the half floors up through the building, at last making the whole place accessible to everybody. Can't wait to get Town Councillor John Fletcher zooming up and down from Council Chamber to cells in the basement. [Only joking John, but it will be worth it in the end won't it?

At the moment all the paper work is being put in place in order to start the work, and preparation work which will include the boarding of the square is ongoing. Real building work on the structure itself starts in September, and the contractors are very keen to work with the town and to keep them informed of progress. More info, always available from the one stop shop.

And talking of the one stop shop, it is still here, not fallen into the Monnow yet. Now that the weather is getting better, work will restart on repairs to the retaining wall as quickly as possible. We will post notices around the bridges into Vauxhall fields if there is to be any disruption to pedestrian access whilst the work is in progress.

Work on trying to keep our pavements clear for pedestrians is on going. Every effort is being made to work with traders rather than against them, and the Chamber of Commerce were anxious to hold a public meeting about the A boards. After careful consideration we think that time is better spent working with individual traders to find solutions. After all the law on this is clear, it is not about what people think about A boards, or even whether pedestrians should be abolished, especially if they are visually impaired, or using wheelchairs, obstructing the pavements is against the law. However, we will continue to work with the Chamber on the general principles about advertising in the town.

And finally, just a reminder about Central Monmouthshire Area Committee this week. 2pm at Llangibby Village Hall, discussing Highways and road safety issues across Central Monmouthshire. I know that this does not seem very local for Monmouth residents, but there again, the residents of Llangibby don't find the one stop shop very local either! Anyway, all are welcome, and if you would like to go, but need a lift, we may be arrange something. Contact the one stop shop.

That's all for now, may the sun shine on us all.