THE OWNERS of a canal boat hire company in Llanfoist are aiming to relocate to Llangattock, as there is no room for their business to expand at its current location.

Alasdair and Sarah Kirkpatrick, directors of Beacon Park Boats, have submitted a planning application to the Brecon Beacons National?Park to extend the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal to form a docking bay and to construct a three-bay boathouse with associated facilities on a site adjacent to Hillside Road in the village.

They currently run a fleet of 13 canal boats from their premises at Llanfoist Wharf but say this is limited for several reasons, not least the steep and narrow access road and car parking problems and the canal space itself which on boat changeover days sees up to 13 boats manoeuvring within a very restricted area.

"As the business has expanded, so have the canal boat sizes and it is now impossible for the company to expand at the current site," says the planning application.

"Currently maintenance is carried out in our one-berth boathouse, which has become challenging in the restricted nature of the site and we need to move to larger premises.

"If Beacon Park Boats is to continue to grow and flourish, at the same time alleviating the problems caused by the current site, new premises are required.

"Existing canalside properties of this size and nature are not readily available, which has led to other existing marinas expanding."

The site that the couple is hoping to convert lies just outside Llangattock village and is currently in agricultural use.

If granted the application would see the construction of a single storey canal side boathouse that includes three covered bays for maintenance and storage.

The structure would have a traditional look, with a reception area, office, laundry room and toilets. The boathouse will not include any sleeping facilities.

The company held a public meeting at the Llangattock Community Hall in November to outline their proposals.

Mr Kirkpatrick told the Chronicle that the project had already been three years in the development.

"We currently operate from three different locations and by developing the site at Llangattock we can consolidate our operation.

"The project represents a £500,000 investment and we have spent a long time researching a suitable site from which to operate effectively.

"Our current location in Llanfoist also doubles as our home and is not therefore being sold or rented out," he added.

As part of the consultation process Brecon Beacons National Park planning authority asked Llangattock Community Council for its opinion and as a result a public meeting was held in the village on Tuesday evening.

Around 80 people attended the meeting and raised a number of concerns ranging from the size and location of the boathouse, problems associated with construction lorries accessing the site over the weight restricted canal bridge, the docking bay in front of the boathouse, the number of boats being stored in the area during the winter months and the effects on the nearby mature woodland that it was said was once classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.