ABERGAVENNY'S main thoroughfare could be closed for more than two months while essential work is carried to divert a culvert as part of the Brewery Yard development.

Members of Abergavenny Chamber of Trade heard at their recent meeting that work on the culvert will require a road closure of up to nine weeks.

"It is felt that this work should be undertaken immediately after the Food Festival," said chamber president Susi Cernoch.

"It will involved the road being closed at the bottom part of Market Street to its junction with Lion Street, which will really mean that traffic will not be able to come up Cross Street," said Ms Cernoch.

She added that consideration had been given to a two way traffic scheme using traffic lights in Cross Street, but that this was unlikely to be workable because of the back up of traffic.

The possibility of keeping the road open but using traffic lights to control the flow had also been considered but discounted because of the angle of the culvert.

The meeting heard that a further option was to leave the work undone until sometime in the future when the redevelopment of the cattle market site was started, although this would entail 'ripping up' the work already completed on Brewery Yard.

This proposal was supported by trader Trina Acari, who said she felt that the road closure was 'unacceptable' especially in the run up to Christmas.

"We have been assured that the road would be open in time for the Taste of Wales awards which will be held at The Market Hall on November 16," said Ms Cernoch.

Chamber member David Haswell said he felt that the road closure was the worst case scenario for local businesses.

"I feel personally disappointed that no consideration was given to including this culvert work much earlier in the scheme as we had suggested," said Mr Haswell.

"Had this happened we could have avoided this scenario, which is the worst thing to happen to local business in the past two years," he added.

Abergavenny Music owner James Joseph asked if any thought had been given to opening the pedestrian area in High Street to traffic for the nine week period.

"This is not a happy situation because the work has got to be done," said former president of the chamber of trade Andy Hinksman.

No-one at Monmouthshire County Council was available for comment as The Chronicle went to Press.