Objections have been raised over plans to turn an historic Aberystwyth hall into nine flats.

Developers have applied to Ceredigion County Council for a change of use and permission to turn Buarth Hall into nine flats, eight of which would be one bedroom.

Planning documents accompanying the application said that more housing - especially one bedroom apartments - are needed in Aberystwyth, but the plans have drawn objections from neighbours over its impact on the area, while a group hoping to save the building for community use has said it “should be preserved as a vital community asset.”

Objections said that the plans “will lead to an increase in traffic and parking congestion in an already crowded area” and would mean the “loss of a valuable community resource in the hall.”

Campaign group Tŷ Bowldro CIC, which grew from the community-led ‘Bowldro Buarth’ movement, claims the proposal ignores a “viable, fully-funded community solution.”

In 2023, the group started work on securing backing to turn the building into a not for profit community climbing wall.

The group has formally submitted a cash-backed offer of £160,000 for the building, arguing that their project “provides a sustainable future for the site that the private residential conversion fails to offer.”

“We are not speculative developers," Marcus Boal, Chairperson of Tŷ Bowldro CIC said.

“We are a community enterprise ready to save this building, secure its future with a statutory asset lock, and preserve it for the public good.

“We have the funding, the business plan, and the community mandate to keep Buarth Hall accessible to the public.

“It is heart-breaking to see plans for private flats move forward when the community is standing ready to buy the hall and keep it open for everyone.”

Mr Boal said the group’s efforts to purchase the hall “were met with delays and obstruction”, with residential developers being “favoured instead.”

Tŷ Bowldro CIC warned that if the residential conversion is approved, “Aberystwyth will permanently lose a historic ‘third space’.”

“This hall belongs to the community,” the group said.

In planning documents, developers said there was a “demonstrated demand for one bedroom apartments within the Aberystwyth area” and that the flats would make better use of the empty hall which is in “fairly good condition, but shows signs of neglect and lack of maintenance, likely due to its vacant status.”

“The existing building is owned privately, associated with the nearby Holy Trinity Church, and has been used in the past for ad-hoc events, community gatherings and small-scale functions,” planning documents said.

“However, the application site was on the market for sale in 2021.

“Given that the site has been vacant and for sale for over five years, it seems clear that there are alternative sites which can accommodate the activities that may have been undertaken at the hall, and it also seems to suggest that there are similar and equivalent buildings which can accommodate the provisions the hall previously held.”

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The plans will be decided upon by council planners at a later date.