I HAVE returned to work once again in Abergavenny for a short time. Please allow an outsider who likes Abergavenny very much to say a few things.

I was last here in March. Nothing has moved forward. I read this paper and all of the same situations are being talked about. It is very disappointed. There are still arguments being made about the Brewery Yard redevelopment even though it's supposed to start work there soon. I have seen the drawings of this work and it seems to me that if, I am being a bit naughty, it will provide a skate park as well, so that is two problems solved at the same time!

As I said in my last letter the entrance to the town from the west is very shabby and the area opposite the bus depot needs uplifting soon.

I understand that a new Aldi store was being proposed but had at first been turned down. It needs to be accepted. I am sure that Aldi could be persuaded to build the store to be in a similar style to the buildings of the tourist information centre, any car parking could be hidden behind the store, this would make the town entrance clean and town-like rather than a dirty industrial area.

I listen to people saying that the reason many small shops in town do not survive for very long is because they are unable to sustain enough profit.

This is because much money is taken off them through your business rating system being much too high. Am I correct in thinking that if shops are empty then no money is paid to the council?

If this is the case why does the council not reduce the taxes for everyone so that all shops could stay occupied and then using simple mathematics the same amount of money could be generated or have I missed something.

I travel locally for my work to towns such as Brynmawr, Blaenavon and Ebbw Vale places where you have to have a reason to go then you turn around and go back.

Abergavenny has a big advantage over these places in that you have to travel through Abergavenny to get to the rest of Wales, all you need to do is provide a reason for stopping for a while. A bustling thriving town will do this naturally. All shops full, nice approaches and the already friendly people will do this.

Please can someone explain to me why the livestock market has to be moved to Raglan and cannot be made into a new market with nice new market buildings, after all Abergavenny is supposed to be a traditional market town. Why also can Asda not be built on a different site such as the old council depot/railway yard at Brecon Road.

Finally, at the moment we have to rely on the car, so why is it not made cheaper for people to stop and visit Abergavenny by getting rid of car parking charges.

The money generated for the council can only be relatively small but is very off putting for the people, be they locals or visitors to the town. I noticed the NHS has managed to abandon charges for their car parks for the convenience of their customers.

My solutions are simplistic but are put forward with the desire to benefit a lovely town.