CAMPAIGNERS from the Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market action group have rebutted Monmouthshire County Council's criticisms levied in last week's Abergavenny Chronicle.

A spokesman for the group said: "We are mystified by the tone of the authority's project director's statement 'revealing' that we are receiving legal aid to challenge Monmouthshire County Council's abuse of power and process over Abergavenny Cattle Market.

"This information has always been publicly available."

The spokesman added: "However, the article failed to mention that Legal Aid is only granted under two conditions - that applicants can prove they have public support both in the form of financial 'community contributions' and 'in kind', and learned counsel advise that the case has to have a greater than 50 percent chance of success.

"KALM fulfilled both these conditions."

"KALM's evidence of support during the Inquiry into the compulsory purchase of the Shooting Rights at Bryngwyn was sufficient to satisfy the Legal Aid Board on the 'substantial community support' test.

"Furthermore, Carl Sargeant's 'consultation' over the repeal of the Abergavenny Acts elicited 218 replies with 203 people opposing the repeal and only 15 people supporting it. So, the only redress, which an ordinary citizen has, is to apply for Judicial Review. 

"Our solicitor and counsel consider there are grounds for believing that both Monmouthshire and Welsh Minister Carl Sargeant have acted unlawfully, and these grounds will shortly be tested in court."

The spokesman concluded: "Monmouthshire's scheme to build a new livestock market at Bryngwyn will cost over £5M of public money, as well as agreeing to subsidise the auctioneers unconditionally for the next fifty years when alternatives funded by private finance could be available.  We'll leave it to Chronicle readers to decide who's wasting our money."