A local politician vying for the Monmouth assembly seat this May has expressed her concern over the ongoing speculation over Morrison’s proposed move to Abergavenny.

Labour candidate Catherine Fookes, who is looking to unseat Nick Ramsay, has said local residents ‘deserve to know what’s going on’ with the £16m development which was ratified in March 2014.

Morrisons was the chosen developer to build a 25,000 square foot store on the site of the old livestock market, which was replaced by a £5m development at Bryngwyn, near Raglan.

Ms Fookes, who is looking to overturn a 6,000 Conservative majority, sent a letter to the Morrisons CEO last November asking for an update on the development, but did not receive a reply despite chasing the issue numerous times.

“I wrote to the CEO of Morrisons as I’ve had the issue of the empty cattle market site raised by residents so I felt I could help by trying to get some answers and reassurance from the supermarket.

“It’s really worrying that they have not responded. I will be pressing them again this week for a response as Abergavenny residents deserve to know what’s going on. I’d like to know if Monmouthshire County Council has heard from them too. Surely they should have some news.”

The supermarket giant paid a £1.7m deposit as part of a legally-binding contract, with the remaining £15m is due in June this year. The deposit would be lost if building work has not commenced by that date.

The council began clearing the site for handover in March 2014. The supermarket was originally planned to open in Autumn of the same year, but no sign of construction has yet been made.

Ms Fookes’ letter, sent over three months ago, asked for details on building start dates; when ‘plans’ promised by the company would be released to the public, and whether the company intended to go ahead with the original proposal.

The Labour candidate said the issue had been brought up by many locals and that there was a ‘considerable anxiety in the Abergavenny area’ regarding the lack of progress.

She said, “The Cattle Market site has been at the geographic, economic and cultural heart of Abergavenny for over 200 years. The buildings on the site were demolished in 2014, but nothing has happened since.

“The reconstruction of the site is an economic imperative for the town. Boarding has been shielding this prime town centre site from view for over a year now, and townsfolk are faced with the constant reminder [of the] negative, rather than positive impact on the town, tourism and the economy.

Peter Fox, the leader of Monmouthshire county council, said that the supermarket was ‘definitely coming to Abergavenny, contrary to some rumours’ but couldn’t offer any concrete dates as to when.

The Chronicle sought the supermarket chain for comment and clarification regarding the matter, without reply.