SINCE it was first erected, the new Morrisons’ building has become a real bone of contention with many Abergavenny folk.

For months, the Chronicle has been inundated with an avalanche of complaints regarding the building’s aesthetic merit and ‘unforgiving design.’

The newest and whitest box in Abergavenny has been branded an ‘eyesore’, a ‘modern monstrosity’, a ‘tin shack’, ‘a testament to abject ugliness’, ‘a burdensome blight’, a’ ‘frightful fancy’, a ‘repugnant blot on the landscape’, and a ‘big bloody mistake.’

Almost all are in accord that it does nothing to enhance the historic town’s landscape or improve the quality of the environment.

They are puzzled how MCC’s planning department allowed such a design to be built in a town which only a short time ago hosted the National Eisteddfod.

It appears that the the new kid on the block has been given a bad rap even before they’ve had the chance to show Abergavenny what they’re really made of.

Even those whose mouths water like Niagara Falls at the sweet scents and plump promise of Morrisons’ deli counter are finding the superstore’s design a hard act to swallow.

But just as you cannot judge a book by its cover, neither can you discount a half-baked doughnut.

With this is mind, the Chronicle contacted the good people at Monmouthshire County Council and asked how the new Morrison’s will enhance and compliant the existing beauty and character of Abergavenny.

We asked them to bestow upon us the reasons their planning department approved the design in the first instance and why they felt it possibly couldn’t be improved in any shape or form.

This is what Head of Planning Mark Hand had to say, “The Morrisons store was approved by the council’s Planning Committee following widespread public consultation and the full and proper consideration of feedback received.

“While the design is clearly not to everyone’s taste, the council judged it to be a clean, contemporary building that preserves the character and appearance of the adjacent conservation area and the setting of nearby listed buildings.

“Progress in bringing the redevelopment of this vacant site forward was welcomed. The store has significantly more glazing than the previous application, allowing shoppers to connect visually with Abergavenny, and it has a feature entrance using stone reclaimed from the demolition of the cattle market buildings.

“The layout provides clear linkages between the store and the town and also through the site, to ensure it functions in an integrated way and supports mixed trips to existing businesses.

“A corten steel sculpture has been designed to go on the large, currently blank elevation facing the car park, and the stone wall is being rebuilt at the rear to screen the service yard.”

What do you think? Have the council called it right or have they got it wrong?