THE deputy mayor of Abergavenny, Councillor Maggie Harris, officially opened two new businesses opened in Llanfoist over the weekend, as part of a £6.4m development bringing sixty new jobs.

Opened on Friday the 61-bed Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre restaurant (which opened on Monday) form part of the Westgate development on Merthyr Road site alongside the Heads of the Valleys road.

“I am delighted that the new Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre are now open for business.

“The two have played a key part in bringing new jobs to the area and with the arrival of household names like Premier Inn and Brewer’s Fayre, it is a great sign that businesses are showing real confidence in Abergavenny and that the town is going from strength-to- strength,” said Mrs Harris.

The arrival of the two firms brings ‘much-needed investment, jobs and new facilities’ to Abergavenny, said James Crawford, CEO of Johnsey Estates – the site’s developers.

Work to bring a Costa Coffee drive-through to Westgate is also ‘well underway’. The new cafe opens in early October, bringing up to 20 jobs.

Johnsey Estates also finalised plans for a 70-bed care home, creating up to 100 full and part-time jobs at the Merthyr Road site.

Lyndsay Roberts, operations manager for Premier Inn, Abergavenny, said, "We’re delighted to start welcoming guests from near and far, to Abergavenny, and hope that even more people will now be able to enjoy all that the area offers.

“As a business, we’re absolutely committed to investing back into the areas where we operate, and are really pleased to have been able to bring so many important new jobs to the town.

“We are looking forward to quickly establishing ourselves as a valuable and successful member of the community."

Marcus Ramsdale, general manager at the new Brewers Fayre, said, “We have spent a lot of time working on the presentation of the restaurant to give our guests the ‘wow factor’ and we hope it will soon become a lynchpin of the Abergavenny restaurant scene, enjoyed by locals as well as guests visiting from further afield.

“We are confident our visitors will enjoy the venue, food and dining experience as much as we do and friends and families can make the most of their time here.”