A public meeting was held last Tuesday by a local campaign group against the plans to build a supermarket on the former livestock market site.

The meeting was organised by Matt Smith, who is the Conservative candidate for the 2021 Senedd elections in the Vale of Glamorgan.

In attendance were local councillors, members of the Chamber of Trade and residents. Points raised included whether another food retailer was necessary in the area, the Royal Charter, the potential of collective ownership.

The story so far

The market closed on 1 September 2020 after 200 years of trading and the structure was demolished two months later in November.

In a cabinet meeting on 8 February this year, the proposal to market the site of the former livestock market for a "medium-sized food retailer" was approved.

The proposal, which includes a public car park, aims "to improve the retail offer of Cowbridge town centre".

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration Cllr Lis Burnett said marketing the land at The Butts was about "getting a positive development for the town".

"I think that many people will know that people travel out of Cowbridge to Bridgend or Culverhouse Cross to do larger food shops and we want to retain that spend in the town centre," she said.

Vale MP Alun Cairns wrote to Council leader Neil Moore to oppose the proposals, calling for a "positive consultation" with residents about developing the site with "imaginative proposals".

Cllr Moore responded, saying the development will not go ahead without formal retail assessment and community consultation, as part of a future planning application.

He also wrote that the new supermarket would create jobs in the town, which are needed to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, and emphasised the need for an imaginative and sensitively-designed masterplan.

Jane Hutt MS said she has supported a number of community enterprise, and partnership proposals to secure the long-term future of the market for all those who have an interest.

"This includes farming, chamber of trade and businesses which are the heartbeat of the Town. Proposals for a Community Hub, market space and car parking for businesses and visitors have been supported locally," she said.

"Consultation about the latest plans is vital and I am grateful for the feedback from key people in the Chamber of Trade and local community who have raised strong objections to the current proposals."

Public consultation

Many who spoke at the meeting said they did not feel adequate public consultation had been completed before the decision to market the land for a supermarket.

Deputy Mayor Russell Spencer-Downe voiced disappointment about the consultation prior to the proposals.

"We didn't get that consultation. We only read about those proposals from the press," he said.

"We should have been consulted, so we're very strong on the fact that the market itself has been eroded.

"The lack of consultation is the key issue here. Lots of people will have different views, but the important thing is they haven't been listened to."

One resident went so far as to say he "couldn't care less what was built there: a skyscraper, a casino or a swimming pool" but was aggrieved that residents "haven't been consulted".

Nub News has approached the Vale of Glamorgan Council to ask the details of the public consultation and is awaiting a response.

What should the site be used for?

A range of ideas of what the site could be used for were put forward.

Bar 44 Director and Chamber of Trade member Natalie Owen brought up the need for parking in the town centre.

"Two hours is not enough time to go shopping in a supermarket and then go out for lunch and visit the other shops," she said.

"We have examples of people actually going into a shop at Christmas, about to spend £200 and then going 'oh, sorry, my parking is about to run out. I'm off.' This is what we're up against.

"At shift changeover at Waitrose, there could be ten, twenty, thirty cars in Cowbridge town centre car parks from all the supermarket staff.

"Even in lockdown a terrible car park is pretty full when most of the shops have shut."

The Council's car parking facility on the land alongside the Town Wall will not form part of the site to be disposed of to a supermarket retailer.

The Vale Council report also states that the development "would bring into the town a much-needed major capital investment, essential to raise funding to facilitate the physical improvement of the car parking areas alongside the Town Wall.

"The actual number of car parking spaces provided within a redevelopment of the main site will be subject to viability and the separate planning application process."

Also speaking as a member of the COT, The Yard owner Paul Langford suggested using the space for independent businesses in the town.

"By allowing yet another national company to come in, potentially an Aldi or Lidl, you will be putting a lot more jobs in the high street out of out of business," he said.

"There'll be a lot more empty shops in the high street. As a chamber, we can't allow that. We must protect the people that are currently trading."

There has been no confirmation that the supermarket set to use the land is an Aldi or Lidl.

One resident had sketched a design for a school to be built on the site, saying it could utilise the playing field, Scout Hall, library and theatre.

"It's close to a nursery, there is car parking there. If there was a school hall as part of that, it could be used for the public when the school is not using it," he said.

"Some of the playground could be used when we'd have the Food Festival, and could actually be opened up for market stalls."

Other suggestions also included a facility for young people in Cowbridge, such as football training facilities and small pitches.

Not everyone was opposed to the prospect of a supermarket, however.

One resident said she had spoken to many local families, who had not come forward with their views.

"I think there is a need for a supermarket which is affordable because there are lots of families in Cowbridge that can't afford to shop locally," she said.

"As much as I support locals, I still do a weekly shop elsewhere and there are a lot of families here that are in that position, not fortunate enough to be able to shop at the supermarkets we currently have.

"I just think also on the positive side, it's a good opportunity to open up jobs for local people within the area given the current climate."

The Royal Charter

In August of last year, traders at a market in Sileby, Leicestershire were told to stop when it was found to be in breach of a charter signed by King Henry III in 1227 prohibiting any market "within six and two-thirds miles" (10.8km) of nearby Loughborough.

At the meeting, discussions took place about whether Cowbridge's charters could be used to prevent the supermarket development.

Paul Langford said that COT committee planned on conducting a retail impact assessment, but wanted to wait until the "the question of the Royal Charter had been dealt with".

"That Royal Charter gives us the right as a town to self-determine what we do with our land, and that that site certainly sits within that," said Paul.

Cllr Spencer-Downe confirmed that he was looking at whether the charters could be used.

"A copy of one is in London in the National Archives, and we found the reference numbers to it. We are in the process of trying to get a copy of that Royal Charter," he said.

Collective ownership

Another prospect discussed at the meeting was that of collective ownership.

One resident described how the town he used to live in bought the land and local pub to prevent it becoming a Sainsburys shop.

"There are a number of different kinds of models that we could entertain in terms of ownership models, but collectively, when we come together, and when we when we buy that land, we can have a very clear business plan, which in my mind, is parking, plus independent retail outlets of some sort," he said.

"There could be there could be co working space, which I think would fit into a number of Welsh Government initiatives.

"If we go down that route, from a business planning perspective, we have to ensure the viability of that model."

Nub News has contacted the councillors representing Cowbridge on the Vale Council and is awaiting a response.

Another meeting will be held tonight at 6pm via Zoom.