PLANS to demolish a former amusement arcade in Borth and build eight shops on the site have been shelved, owners have said, due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In November 2018 a scheme to demolish the former Funland arcade on High Street in Borth and replace it with a market hall was approved by Ceredigion County Council despite objections from nearby residents.

That plan, to which objectors raised complaints over parking, waste, safety and access, would have involved demolishing the current building, before the erection of a new one in its stead on the site to house eight retail units.

That scheme, however, will now not go ahead, with arcade owners P.P. Leisure Activities Ltd saying that finding funding for the redevelopment had not been successful.

Instead, they are now looking to simply change the use of the existing building to retail to allow the site to become a single shop without the expense of redevelopment work.

In a planning application submitted to Ceredigion County Council last week, the company said that in the period between the initial plans being granted and now “Covid has severely impacted the leisure sector and thus the construction work planned is no longer a viable option, with attempts to secure funding to support the development not having been successful.”

““As such the company is applying for planning permission to change use of the existing building to retail without altering the existing structure and undertaking the re-development work,” the company said.

While a consultation was held on the original plans, which attracted objections from those living behind the site, documents say theat no further consultation will be held on the change of use application.

Owners added that the now-applied for change of use to a single unit is “less impactful than that already granted” and that “recent neighbour and community consultation have already been undertaken.”

No changes to the existing permission for the site are proposed in terms of waste storage, parking and access, planning documents outline.