A FORMER library in Aberystwyth could be transformed into a family home after a change of use application was sent to Ceredigion council by the new owners.

The old library in Corporation Street was put up for sale after it was closed in 2012 and the town library moved to the former town hall.

Ceredigion council said the building was sold to developers in 2016, despite a community bid to buy the former library and retain it for community use.

Proposals put forward for the library included a specialist substance misuse facility and even a bar, but it was eventually sold on the open market, and plans were agreed by the council’s development control department for a conversion of the building into two three-bedroom apartments.

That scheme was abandoned in 2018, and the building was placed again on the open market with an asking price of £290,000 before being bought by new owners, who have applied for a change of use by restoring it into a five-bedroom home.

Aberystwyth Town Council backed the plans and said it “welcomes the sympathetic restoration” of the building.

Planning documents said that “significant works” are required to restore and preserve the exterior of the building, while “years of laying empty waiting for a development to commence has meant that the internal condition of the building has deteriorated significantly due to significant water penetration.”

The plans for the building would see a five-bedroom family home being made out of the library building, with holiday units in a three storey cottage at the rear of the site, along with a hobby pottery studio.

Full planning and listed building consent will also be applied for before a decision is reached.