THE CIVIC Society's 'Good Bad and Ugly' Photographic Competition reached its climax last week as the winners were announced.

More than 50 people joined the Mayor Cllr Jane Foulser and Deputy Mayor Cllr Roger Harris at the exhibition and prize giving ceremony hosted by he Kings Arms.

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor awarded 30 prizes and certificates to competitors ageing from five years old to over 60 and there was much interest and discussion about all the photographs displayed.

Nearly 200 entries were received which provided the judges with very difficult choices to make. Liz Davies (Editor of the Abergavenny Chronicle), Toril Brancher (local professional photographer) and Kellie Beirne (Chief Officer for Regeneration at Monmouthshire County Council) spent several hours reviewing the photographs before deciding on the winners. The photographs were not merely judged on their composition, as competitors were also asked to provide a suitable short descriptive caption to each entry.

There were a large number of entries from most of the age groups in each category and whilst a lot of good was recognised, many common themes emerged where it was felt that there were areas of our town in need of some improvement.

A Spokesperson for The Civic Society said, "The Society wishes to give their sincere thanks to the many businesses in town that supported the competition with generous donations of money and prizes; special thanks go to Shackelton Photographic for printing all the entries and providing enlargements of the prize winners' photos for the competitors to keep.

"Abergavenny Town Council was also very generous giving the Society a grant to be run the competition, mount the exhibition and award prizes to entrants."

Councillors who attended the exhibition felt sure that the outcome of this exciting project would be some positive action for the benefit of the town; the Town Council Projects Committee was looking forward to the Society presenting feedback to councillors after the summer break.

The Civic Society now intends to look at these areas and prioritise projects where it is possible to take action to improve the town.

If this initiative and exhibition has caught your interest, why not have your say and join the Society at their next meeting on September 26 at St Michael's Centre, Pen y Pound at 7.30pm.

All the entries will be on display in the empty former Card Warehouse shop on Frogmore Street, opposite the HSBC bank.