CALLS have been made for parking charges to be scrapped in Llandysul and Tregaron and a review carried out of the effect free parking at Aberystwyth’s Tesco development is having on other towns.

Members of Ceredigion County Council’s thriving communities scrutiny committee said that charges in Llandysul and Tregaron should be abandoned as costs of monitoring the car parks and collecting money meant any income was negligible and scrapping the fees would help boost the towns’ economy.

However, council leader Ellen ap Gwynn told a Cabinet meeting full figures had not been provided to the committee and said they showed there was an income to the council and maintenance costs would still be present even if the parking fees were waived.

She said the committee would look into whether local community groups might be prepared to take over the car parks and decide whether to charge for parking or not.

Aberaeron councillor Elizabeth Evans said council chiefs needed to address whether the three hours of free parking at Aberystwyth’s Mill Street development was giving Aberystwyth an advantage over other areas in Ceredigion.­

Cllr Evans said the free parking was putting “all other towns on the back foot” and said there is currently no “parity” between towns in the county in terms of parking charges.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday