CEREDIGION County Council has confirmed it will widen a narrow access road that leads to a proposed £40m university development near Penrhyncoch.

The announcement comes following calls for the “pinch point” on the C1010 road, which lies between the A4159 crossroads and the IBERS campus at Gogerddan, and which services Penrhyncoch from Aberystwyth and the A44 and A487 trunk roads, to be widened before construction starts on the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus.

Planning documents approved last month reveal that construction firm TRJ Ltd will not use the C1010 for site access, as was feared by some residents, but will instead turn off the A4159 onto the U1064, a road which bypasses the crossroads and is primarily used as a short cut between Penrhyncoch and Bow Street.

The Cambrian News reported in July that while Aberystwyth University had agreed to provide the land necessary to widen the road, it would not pay to carry out the works.

The council has told the Cambrian News this week it has included the road improvements in its highways capital programme for this financial year, but added there were still some hurdles to negotiate.

A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “The council has included the improvement of the C1010 pinch point between the A4159 and the U1064 junction in the highways capital programme for 2017/18.

“Construction is dependent on the conclusion of formal land negotiations with the university and a positive planning decision being given for the AIEC Development.”

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