PASSIONS ran high at a meeting of residents about the lack of a pavement along a busy trunk road between two north Ceredigion villages.

The communities of Eglwysfach and Furnace, which are intersected by the A487, have been fighting for a pavement between their villages since the 1970s, and claim they were told a pavement would be built when the Glandyfi Bends improvements were carried out by the Welsh Government in 2013.

Last month, campaigners accused the Welsh Government of contradicting itself by issuing a statement in November which said money had been set aside for a “detailed design” of the scheme, before telling the Cambrian News in December they were “considering whether such a scheme is viable”.

At a special meeting of Ysgubor y Coed Community Council last Tuesday, a packed house of residents grilled the local member and leader of Ceredigion County Council, Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn, and Cabinet member for transport Cllr Alun Williams, about what could be done.

Harry Toland, chair of the community council, said: “We convened this meeting to decide how we are to take this campaign forward. As Alison (Swanson) said, there is a note in the minutes from 1937 saying it would be a good idea to join our villages up with a pavement. Every single month the pavement is on the agenda.

"The latest letter we had said that there were ‘environmental concerns’ which may stop the pavement going ahead altogether. It said there were 37 land owners, some of whom were against the idea, probably because they would lose land.”

Angry residents said the need for the pavement was so high that the Welsh Government should consider compulsory purchase orders if necessary.

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