THE £3.5million allocated for a new state of the art library in Abergavenny could be spent on other projects including buying back The Hill educational centre.

This news surprised many people at the public meeting on Monday, hosted by the Abergavenny and District Civic Society, examining the proposed Whole Place plan to regenerate the town.

Abergavenny Development Forum member David Howells pointed out that King Henry VIII School is expected to be the last high school in Monmouthshire to be upgraded in the 21st Century Schools programme.

"There is a window of opportunity here to forego a new library on the cattle market site and for Monmouthshire to buy back The Hill," he said.

"In the short term it could be used as a multi-functional educational centre to benefit the students at King Henry.

"We should not waste this opportunity to redevelop The Hill as part of the overall regeneration of the town."

Councillor Phil Hobson, deputy leader of the council said: "There are plans to construct a new library as part of the redevelopment of the cattle market site in Abergavenny. However we have to ask ourselves is this the best use of the money and are there other projects in the pipeline that need to be revaluated."

An audience of more than 100 people heard the debate unfold when Shirley Jones pointed out: "I feel that the town has spent a lot of years fighting various issues with Monmouthshire County Council, from the reorganisation of our primary schools to selling off The Hill and the long running dispute over the Cattle Market.

"I am certainly fed up with years of animosity and I feel we need to move on and work with the authority over plans to improve this town and not push them away."

Councillor Hobson said there had been long drawn out battles in the past but added: "What has happened has happened and this is an opportunity for us all to work together for the benefit of Abergavenny."

County Councillor Doug Edwards said: "I'm glad the new library issue has been raised. I'm totally against the proposed new £3.5 million library scheme.

"Life is now very much part of the digital age. We have seen great changes in the past decade and in ten years' time things will be different again. In my view we will still have libraries in 2023, but their role will be completely different from what it is today and has been in the past.

"There is no need to spend this £3.5million on a new library. I feel diverting the money to other projects would be far more profitable for the town in the long run."

The audience responded with a round of applause.

"There is definitely a debate to be had over buying back The Hill," said Councillor Hobson. "I agree that, in the future, libraries will be high tech places and will operate very differently.

"And as Abergavenny already has its historic Carnegie Library, do we really need to build a new one?

"However, it is important to recognise that nobody in Abergavenny is left behind, as the town does have pockets of child poverty. The more viewpoints we get the greater chance of success."

Other suggestions for improving the town included the formation of a town team to co-ordinate various projects put forward by the wide range of organisations in and around Abergavenny.

In the light of the problems faced by Abergavenny Carnival Jeremy Callard said: "One major objective should be to have the A40 trunk road through town rerouted over Llanfoist bridge and I think this would increase the opportunity for community events to be held in the town centre and consequently increase the footfall in Abergavenny."

Chris Wade, chief executive of Action for Market Towns, which has a proven track record in assisting small towns improve their image, said: "Town partnerships are all about working together and not bickering. There is more than enough talent in the town to resolve these issues. Generally it's not differences in opinions, it's opinions on different things."

Janis Davies from the Abergavenny Business Club said: "There are a number of issues that need addressing. The first is to find ways to increase the footfall to make running a business more viable venture.

"The appearance of the town needs to be improved and this could be achieved by adopting a paint palette."

Independent trader Amanda Peters remarked that this had been a very interesting debate and could be the catalyst to get various bodies to work together.

Emma Goode, another trader added: "We have everything we need to kick start this town. We need to get our heads together to find ways to encourage people back to shop in the town centre.

"There are lots of trivial issues that can be resolved with a little initiative. I feel that the funding earmarked for the library could be invested in the town in other ways.

"There are various groups in Abergavenny with a lot of energy raring to get into action to improve the town as part of a joint town team initiative."