A CEREDIGION housing association has been hit with an enforcement notice after making changes to a historic old shop in an Aberystwyth conservation area without prior consent.

Tai Ceredigion received the notice from Ceredigion County Council after it made alterations to the frontage of the former Enoc Huws shop on the corner of Vulcan Street and Prospect Street.

The Cambrian News understands that the wooden framed single-pane glass windows of the former shop, which sits in the Aberystwyth Conservation Area, meaning there are stricter planning rules, have been removed and replaced with uPVC.

Cllr Aled Davies said: “I am not happy. They should have had a little bit more thought for the importance of the building.

“You can’t go around town ripping off historically important parts of buildings.”

The shop was used in the 1970s as one of the prime filming locations for the BBC’s adaptation of the Daniel Owen novel, Enoc Huws, in which the property featured as a butcher’s shop in the depiction of the lead-mining era of the late 19th century.

Maintaining the Enoc Huws sign from the nine-part television series, the shop was then opened as a 1920s ‘curiosity’ exhibition shop by Margaret Evans, and it was popular among tourists.

Ceredigion County Council said the property is not a listed building but is located within a conservation area.

“An enforcement notice has been served on the owners of the property,” said a spokesperson.

Tai Ceredigion confirmed this week it was “in discussions” with the county council about the works, which, it added, were part of a plan to help a local food waste distribution group.

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