THE supermarket chain Morrisons has said it remains committed to building a new store in Abergavenny, despite having just weeks to pay more than £15million to complete the deal to buy the site.

Morrisons has already paid Monmouthshire council a ten percent deposit of £1,675,000 on the sale of the former Livestock Market.

The council signed a legally-binding contract with the firm to build a 25,000 square foot store and began clearing the site in preparation for the scheme in 2014.

The council said earlier this year that the supermarket chain is contractually committed to building a store in the town.

The remaining balance must be paid by June to complete the contract on the site of the former Livestock Market.

A spokeswoman for the national foodstore said: “It is still our intention to construct a new store in Abergavenny.”

“However, we knew from the outset that this would be a lengthy process and we continue to work on the plans with the local authority.”

She added: “We would like to thank the community for their continued patience during this time.”

A council spokesman said last month that the position ‘remains unchanged’ and that the scheme is still on course to go ahead.

Morrisons was chosen as the preferred developer to build a multi-million pound scheme on the site of the former Livestock Market, which closed in 2013. A new £5million site at Bryngwyn, near Raglan replaced the market.

It originally planned to open the branch in 2014 but there is still no sign of construction work having yet begun.

Councillor Bob Greenland, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for enterprise, previously said that work had to start by autumn last year if Morrisons was to open a store by this summer.

A council spokesman said: “The position remains unchanged - Morrisons are contractually committed to the Abergavenny site.”