LAMPETER tenants of a controversial housing asso­ciation are living in “a climate of fear”, it was claimed this week.

Tai Wales and West Housing recently saw their proposed scheme to convert the town’s former Ffynnonbedr Primary School into flats thrown out by county planners.

The move came in the wake of local opposition and claims that recent months had seen a ‘substantial’ increase of police visits, arrests, overdoses, threatening behaviour and antisocial behaviour at properties managed by the housing association.

Now town councillors are inviting a senior executive of Tai Wales and West Housing to a future meeting to hear their concerns while at the same time establishing the criteria of how tenants are housed in Lampeter.

“We are concerned about people who are living in those houses in a climate of fear,” town mayor Cllr Hag Harris told colleagues.

His comments follow claims by residents that the housing association was “continuing to show a failure to manage existing tenants of properties they currently own in Lampeter”.

During a presentation back in January, one local asked: “Do we want to see Lampeter become a sink town for criminals as has happened in other areas?”

Cllr Rob Phillips now feels the time has come to address such concerns directly to the housing association.­

“We need to relay to them the concerns local people are reporting to us,” he said.

“It’s clear that people feel social housing is just not getting to grips with social disorder.

“Now is the time to try and grasp this problem and start a discussion with Wales and West – I don’t think it’ll mean things will improve, but we must try.”

See this week’s South Ceredigion paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now