ON Friday Monmouth­shire County Council passed the Local Development Plan for the county. This includes the provision of 400 new houses off Wonastow Road, Monmouth.

Much of the debate concerned the problem of flooding as the site was mostly on the Monmouth Flood Plain. However, the chief planning officer, Mr. George Ashworth, in front of the full council and many protesters from Monmouth, emphatically denied that the area was part of the Flood Plain.

The accompanying map, which is based on the official Geological Survey of Great Britain, confirms that not only is the site on the Flood Plain but that it is on the alluvium which is the lowest geological level of the Flood Plain. (Crown Copyright. All rights reserved; Monmouth Archaeology Licence No. 10041477)

– Stephen Clarke, The Town Wall, Monmouth.