PARKING restrictions on the A40 in Lower Cross Street, Abergavenny, are set to remain in place, Monmouth Assembly Member Nick Ramsay has been told.

Mr Ramsay raised the matter with the Minister for Local Government and Communities, Carl Sergeant AM, after traders in the area told him that the double yellow lines on both sides of this section of the road were causing great problems for those wishing to stop briefly at the shops in the area, several of which are food take-away outlets.

The traders' hoped that some alterations could be made to the current arrangements.

However, the Minister said that while he appreciated the retail needs of the businesses in Abergavenny, mainline parking on the A40 trunk road within the town had to be kept to a minimum because of safety risks to pedestrians and cyclists as well as to other vehicles on the trunk road.

Mainline parking also reduced the effectiveness of the trunk road to carry volumes of traffic, conflicting with its primary purpose to facilitate the safe and unhindered movement of long distance through traffic. The provision of additional mainline parking at Lower Cross Street was therefore not considered appropriate as there was also a formal public car park nearby.

Commenting on the Minister's response, Mr Ramsay said: "My constituents will be disappointed that the Minister is not inclined to agree to additional parking at this location. I know they have been making great efforts to get those responsible to change the current parking arrangements, which are causing such problems.

"It is a shame that the A40 trunk route can't be diverted to avoid the town centre as this would greatly reduce the volume of traffic and parking would then not be such an issue."