A LAMPETER university runs the risk of alienating townspeople in the ongoing Ffynnonbedr school saga, according to councillors.

Lampeter town councillors have stepped up their criticism of University of Wales Trinity Saint David chiefs over plans to demolish the old Victorian school in Bryn Road.

The dispute has been simmering ever since locals opposed plans by Tai Wales and West Housing Association to convert the school into flats.

Residents of Bryn Road – who described Ffynnonbedr as "a notable landmark" - were last month celebrating the news that the application had been rejected by county planners.

But their relief proved short-lived as notices appeared on the site outlining plans by Hacer Developments Ltd - development and planning consultants for Wales and West - to press ahead with demolition without planning permission.

On Thursday councillors appealed to the university, which owns the site, not to permit the demolition "before the planning process is exhausted" - and hit out at what they regard as a lack of transparency.

“The university has the right to do this, but I’d have had more respect for them if they’d come out and said what they were going to do from the outset,” Cllr Hag Harris - who said householders were "both confused and alarmed" by moves to flatten the old school before any appeal was made - told colleagues.

“I think they’re hiding behind Hacer Developments and Wales and West Housing, but at the end of the day this is the university’s decision.”

A university spokesperson said: "The university has identified Ffynnonbedr School as surplus to requirements as part of the wider rationalisation of its estate as the building has not been used for a considerable amount of time and it is hoped that the redevelopment of the site will bring greater economic benefits to Lampeter.

"The university’s involvement therefore, is as the vendor of the property only and has not submitted a planning application in relation to the site.

"The university welcomes the development of initiatives that contribute to the regeneration of Lampeter and its surrounding area.

"During the last two years the university has attracted a multi-million-pound investment into Lampeter and such initiatives are vital to secure the future sustainability of the area and to promote Lampeter as a destination of choice to live, work and to study."

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