LONG-AWAITED plans for the £500,000 regeneration of Parc Kronberg in Aberystwyth could be completed by the end of next year after initial funding for the project was approved.

The oft delayed Parc Kronberg Regeneration Scheme, led by Aberystwyth Town Council to transform the area around the existing skatepark opposite the Starling Cloud public house on Boulevard St Brieuc, looks now to be back on track after the initial funding application to the Big Lottery was approved.

The project has been beset by problems since it was initially formulated, with land disputes and Natural Resources Wales’ concerns over the potential flooding risk on the site delaying the submission of plans and the start of work.

The Cambrian News also reported last year that Aberystwyth Town Council had just over nine years left on its lease of the land earmarked for the project — throwing the future of the scheme into further doubt.

After initially signing a 21-year lease for the parcel of wasteland on Boulevard St Brieuc in 2003 — the town council has had a long-held ambition to transform it into a green public space.