A call to site car parking cameras at the now-closed Bwlch Nant yr Arian visitor centre has been given the go-ahead by Ceredigion County Council planners despite a plea from campaigners battling the closure of centres in the county.

The Bwlch Nant Yr Arian Visitor Centre, near Ponterwyd, Aberystwyth closed at the end of March, along with other Natural Resources Wales-run centres at Ynyslas and Coed y Brenin.

At the time, Elsie Grace, NRW’s Head of Sustainable Commercial Development, said: “We understand how important our sites are to local communities and visitors and we know the decision to stop providing catering and retail services is disappointing to many people.

“Our board made the decision in response to the extremely tight funding situation we and other public bodies face.

“We will look for partners, both community groups and businesses, to register an interest in providing these services moving forward and will provide more information on how to submit expressions of interest ahead of the launch of any tender exercise.

“In the meantime, all our paths, trails, car park, play area and toilet facilities will remain open and we will continue to maintain our sites to ensure public access continues.”

An application was recently submitted to Ceredigion County Council by NRW to install Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at Bwlch Nant yr Arian.

Concerns were raised in a letter of objection by Helen Heron, of Save Our Centre Campaign Group, Ynyslas, comparing the situation there with Bwlch Nant yr Arian, urging the council to refuse the scheme.

Helen, a former warden at Ynyslas, said parking money at the three sites was previously used to cover the cost of seasonal staff and maintenance but would now go “straight into private pockets”.

Despite the concerns, the application was conditionally approved.