TREFECHAN residents will be given the chance to bid for land they hope could be used as a community facility.

An old boatyard, which is currently leased by the council to IMP Developments, is to be put up for sale on the open market, despite objections from local residents.

And one councillor says the land was part of the old Aberystwyth to Carmarthen railway which campaigners hope to reinstate so should not be sold until the outcome of a feasibility study into the railway line was known.

Cabinet members have now agreed to market the property for 16 weeks instead of the proposed 10 weeks to allow local residents to see if they could raise funding and money to buy the site themselves.

Local councillor Endaf Edwards had asked the Cabinet for the extended period after being approached by a local resident.

Cllr Edwards also said there were serious concerns amongst residents that a housing development at the site would lead to traffic problems and exacerbate drainage problems, and insisted that the land would be better used as a community facility, such as a park.

Cabinet member Rhodri Evans said that despite interest from local residents, the land should be put on the open market, saying everyone would then have a chance to try and buy it.

Meanwhile, Aberystwyth town councillor Mair Benjamin has criticised the county council for failing to tell residents in the Rheidol ward about the Cabinet report into selling the land.

“Building on this site is likely to impact on residential properties. I find it difficult to fathom why someone from Ceredigion council has not notified those likely to be affected,” she said.

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