I made a formal complaint to Abergavenny Town Council about Sara Burch’s lack of support for most residents in the Cantref area, even though she is our official councillor. She always has the opposite view so end of conversation.

She is less than helpful.

After the stakeholders’ meeting on July 17 for the dreadful Castle Meadow plans she proved without any shadow of doubt that she was only considering her wishes as a cyclist and that she couldn’t care about any other users of the Meadows.

She commandeered the meeting, leading each MCC member to answer the way she dictated after each stakeholder comment or question.

We were never given a chance to respond to the answers. Sara Burch is totally for the daft, dangerous and very expensive plans. Like the organisers, she is thrilled they will be spending so much money. Probably makes her feel important.

Sara Burch, like the rest of MCC, seems to have little understanding of Health and Safety and feels cyclists should ride straight onto the meadows, at whatever speed they like and should not be expected to open any gate.

The present regular cyclists disagree, and feel hurt that they are being clumped together in her daft group which does contain all, or most of, the organisers of the Castle Meadow Plans.

The plans could create great danger onthe Meadows for young families with prams, pushchairs, bikes and toys for a nice outing, friends, old or young, and the disabled on mobility scooters, or struggling to walk, as well as the blind and deaf; all trying to exercise and enjoy fresh air at a unique place.

Many people use the meadows to walk to work, shop, visit friends, and watch nature along the riverbanks, rather than go through town. There are a few cyclists and most, like the rest of us, just want easy to operate small gates. If need be, there could be two gates, left hand one for entering the Meadows and the right hand one to exit the meadows; with a sign to say which one to use and remind people it’s a slow closing gate, like the ones on the Gavenny bridge.

Cattle grids should not be installed anywhere ever where the public will walk or cycle. They are dangerous as proven at the end of April in the four day trial below the Castle. A dog died, others were badly injured, a mobility scooter got stuck on the cattle grid, as did a bicycle, and a cyclist fell off.

There may have been more accidents. That grid has now been removed; the installation, cost of grid and removal being a complete waste of public money.

The ‘Save Castle Meadows’ group was formed as a result of Evas’s death, and organised a walk, about 200 came with many saying they would have come but couldn’t, as they were away etc.

There was a small stakeholders’ meeting on July 17 with invitation only access. Many more wanted to come but the follow up meeting for the public on Tuesday 18 was not advertised by MCC except at County Hall where luckily one of the Friends of the Meadows saw it and alerted us to it. We learnt the following:

Fewer cattle grids but several are still going to be installed despite the farmer not wanting them. In several places, particularly on the Merthyr Road and from the main Byfield car park entrance, faster vehicles will be able to access the Meadows.

We could get campers or gypsies, who stay for three weeks until they can be evicted, camping anywhere. Many do try to camp illegally at present

When the cattle are not on Meadows, cattle grids will be shut off but the adjacent gate will be tied open.

Net result is it will NOT be a safe place for families, or anyone, to visit, due to fast vehicles racing everywhere, regardless of paths, and children could run out of the Meadows or get injured. Where is the Health and Safety in this plan? There could be a lot of legal claims from the public to the MCC.

I am organising a Protest Walk on Saturday,September 2 meeting outside Trading Post at 10am. Please can you all come and show your support to stop these crazy plans. Most who know are anti these plans. All Abergavenny residents are entitled to know of them.

Liz Procter, Abergavenny.