Meetings

 Our 2022 / 23 Meetings

All meetings are at the Methodist Church Hall, Castle Street starting at 7.30 pm, though do join us for a cup of tea or coffee from 7pm.

29 September – Enhancing green spaces & blue spaces, to create robust Green Corridors
Jane Clarke, Green Infrastructure Project Officer for Monlife wider countryside team is working on The Green Corridor Project. Ecological green and blue corridors across the main Monmouthshire settlements have been identified and mapped. See which Green Corridor you are located in.

17 October – AGM at 7pm followed at 7.30 by Progressing the New Development Plan
We will welcome Paul Griffiths, the new Deputy Leader of MCC, representing a Chepstow ward, and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Economy, and Mark Hand, Head of Placemaking, to update us on, and discuss, the Replacement Local Development Plan.

14 November – Our local horticultural past: has it anything to teach us?
Patrick Hannay is Chair of Abergavenny Transition Town and member of ATT’s JUST FOOD group, as well as being one of the directors of OUR FOOD 1200 and Editor of Touchstone, the Journal for Architecture in Wales. He is currently working on a small film about current local horticulture producers.

12 December – A festive meeting of fun, fuelled by non-alcoholic punch and nibbles

19 January 2023 – A chance to socialise over a 2 course meal at Monmouthshire Golf Club

13 February – Stump Up for Trees
Robert Penn is a bestselling author, broadcaster and co-founder of Stump Up For Trees, a local, community-based charity planting one million trees and restoring landscapes in the Brecon Beacons area. Robert will talk about the constraints to woodland creation in Wales, the benefits of planting trees and why we urgently need to get more in the ground now.

13 March – Creative developments in Abergavenny
John Clarke, chair of the Melville Centre for the Arts, will share the stage with David Baxter, Manager of the Borough Theatre to outline the opportunities for an exciting collaborative future partnership

17 April – John Crandon and Andrew Mason

Former police officers, John Crandon and Andrew Mason now work as Community Safety Officers for Monmouthshire County Council.  Their role is to liaise with the local Police Team and other partner agencies to monitor antisocial behaviour, to respond to concerns of residents and businesses, to provide interventions to reduce nuisance issues, violence and promote a safe community area for all.

15 May – Fergus Collins and the Countryfile ‘plodcast’
Monmouthshire resident and editor of the magazine Countryfile, Fergus Collins will talk about how the Countryfile podcast, affectionately known as the ‘Plodcast’, inspired by the local scenery, really took off through Covid lockdowns when everyone needed an extra dose of the outdoors. He will reveal some of the secret places and also provide an insight into how the Countryfile TV programme is made.

12 June – ‘Involving young people in Monmouthshire’s Heritage’
David Urry will share his work on Engaging and Involving Young People (11-25) in MonLife’s Heritage. David will share lessons learned and give an insight into what young people want/need from their heritage experiences. He hopes to be joined by some young people involved in the project.