THE mayor of Lampeter has defended the town council following the closure of two independent bakeries in the town.

In a letter to the Cambrian News, reader Jillian Goddard suggested that more could have been done to help Briwsion Bakery and Y Popty and described their demise as “a kick in the teeth”.

“Shame on you Lampeter council for allowing a big national chain like Greggs to come and start up a business in a small town like Lampeter.Two local independent bakeries have closed down,” she wrote.

“Have they no loyalty to their own local businesses?"

However, Cllr Hag Harris pointed out that neither the town council nor county council had a say on planning grounds whenever a business – national or local - moved into an existing retail site.

“Only where a change involves a building’s use, changing, say, from retail to office or similar, does the council have any involvement in the process,” he said.

“The council cannot dictate who occupies any premises. The reasons for the closure of any business can be quite specific and I am aware of individual reasons in this instance."

See this week’s South Ceredigion edition for the full story, in shops and online now