Plans to add four basement flats to the development of a disused “eyesore” building on Aberystwyth sea front have been refused by Ceredigion County Council over flooding fears.

The prominent seafront Grade II listed Deva building on Marine Terrace has been empty since 2006 when the nursing home that was housed at the site closed its doors.

Plans to transform the building’s first, second and third floors into 17 flats were approved by the council in September 2024.

Developers then applied to Ceredigion County Council in a bid to add a further four flats in the basement of the building.

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Developers said that “during the construction process it has been identified that additional units of accommodation can be incorporated into the basement and add towards the small unit housing stock in Aberystwyth.”

Planning officers said that “previous permissions” on the site “have not consented any residential use in the basement area primarily on flooding grounds.”

Planning documents said the seafront development “is in an area which has been known to flood in the past.”

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) objected to the additional scheme saying that the new flats will “increase the risk at this property.”

NRW expressed concerns over wave overtopping, with the most serious event being in January 2014.

Developers, in mitigation of the flooding risk, pointed to a proposed multi-million pound coastal defence scheme for Aberystwyth being considered by Ceredigion County Council.

Planning officers said: “Until such works have been completed the basements along Marine Terrace remain at risk of inundation.”

NRW said: “From past flood events there is a clear known flood risk to Marine Terrace, with the potential of flood water to inundate the basements.

“When the impact of climate change on sea level rise is accounted for, future risks from wave overtopping may be significant.”

Calls have been regularly made through the years for the site, dubbed an “eyesore” by residents and local councillors, to be renovated and occupied, with owners at one point fined £1,000 by Ceredigion council for failing to keep up the appearance of the exterior of the building which sits with the town’s conservation zone.

The plans were refused by Ceredigion County Council planning officers under delegated powers.