VISITORS could soon be making waves on the Wye, after new plans for a river cruise dock and cafe beside the 950-year-old Chepstow Castle were given the go ahead by Monmouthshire planners.

The dock will allow boat trips upstream as far as Tintern Abbey, following in the wake of Wye Tour trippers like Wordsworth, JMW Turner and Coleridge.

But the plan for the two-storey cafe submitted by Thomas Evans Ltd has sparked controversy, with opponents claiming it will ruin the view of the oldest stone castle in the UK, where work began just a year after the Battle of Hastings in 1067.

Residents living across the river on the English bank in Elmdale were among those who objected, alongside the Forest of Dean District Council and Chepstow Town Council.

Roy Pearse, who lives across the river, said the “view of the river bank and castle will be changed for ever” by siting a cafe in the corner of the castle car park.

“There are sufficent cafés in Chepstow without building another in one of the most beautiful parts of the town,” he said.

“Boat trips up the Wye might be in step with sustainable commercial development. However an extra cafe in such a sensitive context is neither necessary nor advisable.”

An earlier plan for a single storey cafe and cruise jetty was passed in 2007.

And conservation expert Edward Holland, in a report on behalf of the business, said of the new plan: “Chepstow Castle would remain predominant in all views throughout the surrounding area and its significance would be unaffected.”

He said there would be “no negative impact on the view” from the car park, while from the 203-year-old Old Wye Bridge, it would be “sufficiently separate and at a significantly lower level to avoid detracting from the appreciation of the castle’s dominance.”

“The opportunity to recreate the Wye Valley picturesque boat trips arguably enhances the qualities of the historic landscape.

“The castle and its setting have been painted and photographed and written about by many over the last two centuries, including by the most famous artists such as JMW Turner and the Wye Valley landscape made famous by poets such as William Wordsworth.

“The opportunity that this building provides to recreate the Wye Tour and for people to regain an appreciation of the beauty of the river and enormity of the castle from the water is of great aesthetic value.

“It echoes the Picturesque movement and the great paintings and writings that have been created from the River Wye in the 18th and 19th centuries.”

Welsh historic monuments group Cadw agreed that the building of the cafe/cruise dock would not constitute significant change.