MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council’s cabinet member for county operations has sought to reassure local residents that there are no plans to move or close Llanfoist’s recycling centre.

In letter to the Chronicle, Councillor Bryan Jones said that he and other councillors frequently heard rumours about re-locating to Raglan said that ‘nothing could be further from the truth’.

“Our recycling centres are strategically located across the county in prime positions to serve residents and a successful waste site has existed at Llanfoist for over 30 years, so it’s certainly not in our interest to move it. Why would we move a facility ten miles away from the county’s largest town, with the resulting additional cost and carbon impact?” said Councillor Jones.

“The Llanfoist centre underwent a major £1m redesign in 2010. Consequently, we are not going to waste public money by closing a site just six years later and waste even more on a new facility costing up to £2m.

“The council has no money to carry out such work and more importantly, we don’t have the need.

Responding to a letter in last week’s Chronicle, from reader Chris Meadows Councillor Jones said that he agreed that the Llanfoist facility is ‘an excellent, well-run, well-used and well-maintained facility as well as an integral asset that supports Abergavenny’.

“ I am pleased to inform Mr Meadows and all other residents that we have absolutely no intention of moving or closing Llanfoist Recycling Centre,” he said.

“I want to give local residents a guarantee that the site will remain exactly where it is,” he added.

“We have obviously looked at the future of our recycling service and our centres play a critical part. But that’s just evolution and the continual improvement of our services.

“I thank Mr Meadows wholeheartedly for his warm words of praise for the site. I echo those and thank our staff and every resident in Monmouthshire for making us one of the UK’s best recycling counties. Please be assured that your recycling centre is staying put in Llanfoist - where it belongs,” said Councillor Jones.