QUESTIONS have been raised over Plaid Cymru’s claim that councillors have decided not to charge for parking on Aberystwyth promenade.

Following a Ceredigion County Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where a report on proposals to charge for parking along Aberystwyth was noted, Plaid Cymru Ceredigion posted on their Facebook page: “Yesterday (Tuesday) Ceredigion County Council cabinet decided not to charge for parking on Aberystwyth’s promenade.”

Aberystwyth county councillor Alun Williams posted to his page, saying: “Ceredigion Council’s Plaid Cymru cabinet today decided not to go ahead with a suggestion for charging for parking on Aberystwyth prom. The idea had been proposed by the council’s Thriving Communities Scrutiny Committee, comprising a mix of backbench councillors from around the county, as part of a package of parking measures for towns across the county. The cabinet agreed to ‘note’ the proposal only and to take no action.”

The claim was then repeated in an article written by Aberystwyth town mayor Cllr Kerry Ferguson, on the publicly funded community news website BroAber 360.

In the minutes from cabinet however, the report was only noted and no decision was made.

Cllr Gwyn Wigley Evans, Gwlad member and chair of the Thriving Communities Scrutiny Committee that discussed the proposals to park on the promenade last month, said: “It is not my understanding that a decision has been made to not charge on the promenade.

“There was no decision to make on Tuesday.

"The proposal went before cabinet to be noted.

"As far as I am concerned, the proposals are not dead in the water and it’s not a no.

"Officers were told that more information was needed on seasonal charges and a more accurate estimate of what charging on the promenade will mean. It’s to my knowledge an ongoing issue.”

A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “Cabinet noted the content of the report from the Thriving Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and that further work would be required to investigate and develop the recommendation included in the report before being considered through the relevant democratic processes.”