Monmouthshire County Council has confirmed that fire fighters are at the scene and a full assessment will be made in the morning.

For further details, please follow Monmouthshire County Council on Twitter.

Update: 5th November 2010

• Monmouthshire County Council has released a statement on the fire.
• South Wales Argus has reported on the blaze.
• A Govilon Resident recorded this footage during the height of the fire.

Saturday 10th July: Forge & Railway Heritage Trail

Start at 10.30 from The Forge Car Park, Govilon (SO 265133)

This 1.9 mile circular stroll along the picturesque old railway line visits the sites of an ancient forge, the Govilon aqueduct and Bailey’s canal wharf.  Free parking, family friendly.

Saturday 11th September: A chapel, a church and a canal – Govilon’s Heritage

Start at 10.30 from The British Waterways Car Park, Govilon Wharf (SO 272137)

Join the Rev. Peter Baines for a leisurely stroll 1.9 miles along the canal visiting the oldest baptist chapel in Wales.  Free parking, family friendly.

The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority apologise for any inconvenience caused.

1 May 2009

Dear Parents/Resident of Govilon

We have just discovered that we are one of three schools in the Abergavenny Area which are under threat of closure.  There is a Cabinet meeting during the afternoon of Wednesday 6th May at which the proposal to close Govilon Primary will be considered and it will be decided if the proposal should be taken forward into the formal consideration process.

We are writing to you because we know that as a parent or resident you will be concerned about the future of the school and how its closure would affect the village community.  We may have a lengthy period of consultation to go through, during which your support will be much needed and appreciated.  Today, we are perhaps at the most crucial stage, in that we need to make Cabinet members aware of the strength of your support in our community.

What we would like is for you to write to as many of the seven Cabinet members as possible, as soon as possible. Ideally, these letters need to be with them by Tuesday, which means posting first class on Saturday with the bank holiday (we have attached one stamped envelope to assist you).

Points you may like to put in your letter are:

• Children will no longer be able to walk to school. Their nearest school would be Llanfoist or Gilwern, and recent road development has made this an unsafe route to walk, as well as being too far.
• The impact on village life. The school is well integrated in the village and we have a mutually supportive relationship.
• Estyn inspection says, “Govilon Primary School is a good school with many outstanding features.”
• The timetable for consultation is unfair – consultation with parents would take place just as the Summer holidays start.
• This school is not too small to be viable.
• Any money saved in closing the school would be marginal when offset by the cost of redundancies. Also, the recession impacts on the amount of income received from the sale of land – the land would be used for housing.

The people to contact are:

• Councillor P A Fox
• Councillor R J W Greenland
• Councillor E J Hacket Pain
• Councillor B R Hood
• Councillor S B Jones
• Councillor P Murphy
• Councillor E Saxon

Yours sincerely

Verona Nelmes
Chair of Governors 01873 855974