The collapse of a business project in Aberystwyth has left some town centre traders “frustrated” at being left hundreds of pounds out of pocket over a Christmas gift voucher scheme.

Traders in the town centre had been paying a 1.25 per cent levy on their rates to fund town improvements since 2016 when the Aberystwyth Business Improvement (BID) was established.

Managed by the Advancing Aberystwyth group since then, the scheme was disbanded in March after town businesses voted for it to discontinue during a formal renewal ballot.

The ‘no’ vote meant the BID, and with it Advancing Aberystwyth, was wound up.

It has left many businesses in town in the lurch over a promotional voucher scheme that was launched over the Christmas period between November and January, with several shops and restaurants now owed more than £100 each.

The scheme, Siop Aber – Caru Aber, rewarded customers for supporting Aberystwyth’s businesses by receiving a sticker when they spent a minimum of £10.

When they collected five stickers, they received a £20 gift voucher to spend in any participating business.

Around 1,000 of the vouchers were initially printed according to figures from Advancing Aberystwyth, but it is not known how many were subsequently claimed and spent.

The scheme was extended for several weeks due to the Christmas lockdown in Wales.

Nia Roberts, who runs Banera, a wine and cocktail bar on Terrace Road, told the Cambrian News that she had £120 worth of the vouchers given to her by customers during the promotion that she cannot now get reimbursed for, and said there were several other businesses in the town left in the same boat.

“It may not seem like a lot of money, but businesses are really struggling to recover [from the pandemic] and it can make a huge difference to smaller traders,” she told the Cambrian News.

“We have not had any response or answer from Advancing Aberystwyth since April and are left with vouchers that we cannot get reimbursed for.

“It is the principle of it, we joined the scheme in good faith and now are struggling to get the money.

“Some businesses handed their vouchers in to Advancing Aberystwyth before March and have still not heard anything or received money.

“These are small independent businesses who are just trying to survive.

“It is really, really bad what they are doing.

“It’s like stealing £100 worth of stock off the shelves.”

Literature produced by Advancing Aberystwyth for the scheme said that “when a customer uses a gift voucher in your business, you will need to keep that voucher and contact us with the voucher number.”

“We will then pay you £20 and mark off that gift voucher as being spent in your business,” it said.

For several businesses that has not happened and Cllr Ceredig Davies, who runs a shop on Great Darkgate Street, told the Cambrian News that “traders in the town have told me of their frustration at being out of pocket following the voucher promotion run by Advancing Aberystwyth.”

“Wearing my shopkeeper’s hat, I thought, at the time, it was a worthwhile scheme in which we participated, but we did not have any vouchers redeemed with us at Mona Lisa,” Cllr Davies said.

“Wearing my councillor’s hat, I understand that this is not a matter for the council but a private matter between affected traders and whoever is tasked with winding up Advancing Aberystwyth.”

Ceredigion council, which had supported the set-up of the BID and helped organise both ballots, said that it is “aware of the situation” but added “it is not a matter for the council to comment on.”

While the Advancing Aberystwyth group continues to be trading according to Companies House, its website shows no content, and no response has been received to correspondence from the Cambrian News.