THE future of Abergavenny looks bright thanks to the collaboration of two major groups in the town.

In a move that aims to bring the best out of the area and secure the future of the historic town the mayor, councillor John Prosser and Chamber of Trade's president Susi Cernoch have 'joined forces.'

The binding of the groups was sparked by a passion to save Abergavenny from the pitfalls of becoming a ghost town.

With the increasing number of shops closing down and major economical and structural changes taking place, councillor Prosser and Ms Cernoch decided it was time to do something new.

The mayor has been a councillor for eight years and Ms Cernoch owns a successful local business - both have strong desires to enrich Abergavenny.

Councillor Prosser said, "This is my pet project if you like, something I wanted to do for the town, especially when I walk through the high street and see the empty shops and quiet streets, I want to help bring more people and business to Abergavenny.

"It is a very difficult problem to solve and I thought we need to do as much as possible to do accomplish it."

He informed the Town Council last week of the plans and wanted their opinions on whether closer working could be agreed between the two organisations in the interest of the town.

His enquiry was met with an enthusiastic response, and it was agreed by the Town Council that the Chamber of Trade would be represented at the January 29 meeting of the projects committee to discuss mutually beneficial issues.

A new year means a new start for Abergavenny, Ms Cernoch said it was a desire to get the most for Abergavenny that spurred on her decision.

"There are so many changes a-foot in Abergavenny and so many opportunities for us to use as a freeboard to create a better environment for everyone, residents, visitors and businesses. I felt there was a bit of deterioration in communication between the Chamber and the Town Council. I thought there would be a missed opportunity if I did not do something about it now. I was very fortunate to meet the mayor and leader of the council and form a relationship. It's nice that they also approved.

"They invited us to be represented at the projects meetings. The nice thing is that a lot of groups in operation have people with feet in more than one camp. The more groups that can work together the better, we can plan to discuss what each other needs in terms of information and collaboration."

Councillor Prosser added, "I am conscious that the Town Council needs to work closely with the Chamber of Trade and I was aware that we did not have any formal representation with each other. I contacted Susi and said I think that we should be working closure with each other. She agreed so I invited her to the projects committee meeting. She sent me a letter to confirm it all. I put out my arm and she said yes please, I took it to the Town Council and and they said go for it.

"I am in for anything that will enhance the town and attract visitors. We have had the occasional interaction for things such as the Christmas lights and events and entertainment - more recently with the Y Fenni Events Committee - but there was nothing formal as such.

"There's things we can and can't do but unless we talk and understand each other's viewpoints then we don't progress.

"I am a great believer in communication and I feel I have responsibility as mayor to try and steer the Town Centre to a certain degree."

Ms Cernoch added, "This is going to be the key to the success of Abergavenny, we are trying to maximise results for the town."