Monmouthshire County Council and Chepstow Town Council have joined together to prepare the next step in the town’s journey, setting out a long-term vision for the town that lays out the steps that need to be taken to achieve a more attractive and vibrant town.

Building upon the 18 months of Place Plan consultation undertaken by Planning Aid Wales and Place Studio on behalf of Chepstow Town Council, this next phase focuses on the whole of Chepstow and will consider appropriate physical changes to ensure future Chepstow is a town well-placed to serve its existing and future residents, businesses and visitors. Supported by Welsh Government Transforming Towns’ funding, this plan will guide future regeneration spend in the town.

Early engagement on the Place Plan to date has taken place with a wide variety of organisations, businesses, and residents of Chepstow.

Through this engagement phase, key themes have been identified and within each topic area, initial proposals for planning priorities and indications for practical projects has been identified. These include:

Empowering communities and maintaining services
To protect, enhance and diversify the town’s social and cultural assets as well as our valued facilities and services to meet the needs of all members of the community.

Open spaces and natural environment
To protect and where possible improve the natural environment around and within the town and ensure that people of all ages and levels of mobility have access to high quality green and open spaces.

Shopping, working and visiting
To ensure the town centre remains an accessible and attractive hub of the town and the wider area and maintain and grow the position of Chepstow as a great place to live, work and visit.

Getting around
To address issues associated with highways and the impact of high volumes of traffic and poor air quality, and to support the creation of a local transport system that is fit for all journeys that all people need to take in and beyond the town.

Heritage and place
To protect the heritage and built environment assets of the town and celebrate our culture that will help in generating a sense of belonging and pride amongst the local population as well as attracting visitors into town, as well as retailers and employers.

Future homes and sustainable development
To ensure that the community of Chepstow plays an active role in the future growth of the town, considering the needs of current and future generations for quality, climate responsive and affordable homes, both within Chepstow and the surrounding areas.

Councillor Sara Jones, Cabinet Member for Economy said: “We are delighted to be taking forward this important piece of work and that Chepstow Town Council has joined with us in commissioning the preparation of this plan. The extensive consultation undertaken by Chepstow Town Council over the past 18 months will be invaluable in informing future actions and we look forward to working with many different stakeholders through the plan development and implementation”

Councillor Dale Rookes, Chepstow Town Councillor and Chair of Placemaking Plan Steering Group said: “For the past 18 months, Chepstow Town Council have been working to formulate a ‘Place Plan’ that could help shape the future of planning development within the town. We have involved residents, visitors and community stakeholders throughout that process, and their input has been invaluable. This collaboration on a ‘Placemaking Plan’ will build on that work. Once again, we are asking for residents’ help in shaping a ‘vision’ for Chepstow that we can all be proud of.”

Monmouthshire County Council has launched a survey seeking views on how residents, business and visitors currently use and would like to use Chepstow High Street and the surrounding shopping area. The High Street in Chepstow has been closed to vehicles since March 2020 other than for access to the disabled parking bays on Bank Street and for deliveries between 4pm and 10am. This change was made to enable shoppers to socially distance, to support outdoor trading and to support walking and cycling. There have been wide ranging opinions on this closure, so now as the council is considering longer term options as part of the Chepstow Placemaking Plan and Active Travel proposals, and would like to hear from as many people as possible in order to shape future plans.

The survey can be completed online https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/shop-local/chepstow/ or a paper questionnaire can be collected from and returned to the Town Council offices, Chepstow Hub and Chepstow Tourist Information Centre. The survey closes at noon on 15th March.