A COUNCIL decision to postpone efforts to get the former Arriva bus depot site in Aberystwyth redeveloped has been slammed this week.

The site in Park Avenue has been identified for a major development that could help boost the town’s economy.

But after two failed attempts to attract a suitable scheme the county council has now said it will continue with its search after a review into parking in Aberystwyth is completed in the summer at the earliest.

That would mean the site had been left unused since 2013 and it could be 2019 before any progress is made.

A county council spokesperson said: “On and off-street parking issues in a town such as Aberystwyth are complex, inter-related and multi-faceted.

“The council is finalising a brief for the development of an Aberystwyth Parking Strategy which will need to consider the views and requirements of numerous interested stakeholders with a view to the draft strategy being available for consultation with stakeholders in early summer 2018.”

Local councillor Ceredig Davies said he was more concerned about the length of time it will take to complete a parking review in Aberystwyth.

He said: “What concerns me more in the short term is that the parking consultation will not take place until the summer.

“When you consider the time it takes to consult, the time then to analyse the feedback, the time then to publicise any proposed changes, followed by the time to respond to the publicised notices are possibly looking at 2019 before we see any changes."

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See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday