Plans are under way to host artisan outdoor markets and other community events at a town’s former waste and recycling centre.

Usk residents waged a long campaign to keep the recycling centre open, but Monmouthshire Council closed it early last year “to cut costs and improve its recycling rate”.

It then advertised the site – beside the Rural Life Museum – as for sale, with a deadline for bids in September.

Usk Town Council, which opposed the closure of the centre, then put forward a non-monetary bid to use it as a community facility, including extra car parking space.

And funding for the project has now been provided by the Welsh Government and the county council via a Transforming Towns Placemaking Grant.

A town council spokesperson said: “The markets would run initially for a trial period from the beginning of March.

“To assess popularity, they will be held initially on three different days, every first Wednesday, second Sunday and last Saturday of each month from 10am to 3pm.

“It is hoped, the former HWRC will be used to also host other community events.”

With the closure of three banks in the small rural town, councillors hope the new outdoor market will give residents in surrounding villages a reason to shop there.

“This will increase the footfall for our existing local businesses on market days as well as the benefits it will bring to Usk residents,” said the spokesperson.

“Green Top Events Ltd (GTE), who already host markets in other towns in Monmouthshire and South Wales, have agreed to take on the task.

“GTE will give local traders first refusal and all their stall holders’ products must be ‘home-made’ or ‘hand-made’. Please have a look at their website www.greentopevents.co.uk.

“If you are interested in holding a stall at the market, please contact Green Top Events directly to register with them.

“We hope you agree this is a great opportunity to utilise the former recycling centre for the benefit of our existing businesses and residents alike and return Usk, once again, to its Market Town status.”

It is hoped to have a market of more than 20 stalls with additional capacity outside the area onto the car park for special events, while local businesses could add on further capacity in their own spaces.

Stalls will include food and drink, plants, clothes, soft furnishings and carpentry.

Cllr Steve Williams, deputy mayor of Usk, said at the time of the bid that the site could be used for pop-up markets, small community events and extra parking on days it is not in use.

“The thinking is to retain it as a town community facility,” he said.

“It was a community facility that was taken away, primarily for financial reasons, but we would like to retain that space.

“We feel that it should remain in the public domain to encourage more local use. The idea was that it would have a use seven days a week.

“We firmly believe that it should remain as a community asset and not a private asset.”

However, not everyone is happy, one resident pointing out: “How about supporting the two markets that already exist in Usk? Farmers’ Market & Country Market.

“These have been operating in the town for many years and both need more support.”

And they added: “This will exacerbate an already significant parking problem.”