THE mayor of Aberaeron is celebrating her 'conquest' of the pole.

Cllr Elizabeth Evans was among the startled residents and visitors who voiced their dismay at the appearance of an unseemly metal pole in the town centre earlier this summer.

Variously described as "horrific" and "a blot on the landscape", it turned out to have been erected by the South Wales Trunk Road Agency officials in readiness for a solar-powered CCTV camera to check traffic speeds once a planned 20mph speed limit between Portland Place and Greenland Terrace was introduced.

“I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this large, unsightly pole erected in the most visible position on the main A487 road going through Aberaeron, bang in the middle of the town centre,” Cllr Evans said at the time.

“Clearly this has been a desktop exercise undertaken by someone who has evidently never been in the centre of Aberaeron.”

However, after receiving numerous complaints she has now revealed that SWTRA officers have made a U-turn regarding the pole.

“Having met with them and the company commissioned to undertake the work of installing the signage for the new 20mph speed limit, it has been agreed that the pole on Bridge Street near the pedestrian crossing will be removed,” Cllr Evans told the Cambrian News. “Obviously I am very relieved and everyone around the table was in agreement that the siting of the pole at this location was inappropriate.

“We will have further discussions relating to the reduced speed limit, but I have had assurance that the minimum of signage required to support the 20mph will be installed.”

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