CEREDIGION County Council has shelled out £600,000 to purchase a car park in Cardigan after last week saying it had no money to repair a broken bridge and jetty in Aberystwyth.

The council has agreed a deal with the Studt family to buy Fairfield in Cardigan, where it has been the site of the town’s November fair for more than 150 years.

The site had been leased to the council as part of its portfolio of car parks, but is now in the hands of the council following the sale.

The fair will continue at the site following the sale, the council said.

The £600,000 purchase price for the site, after around 12 months of negotiations, comes as the Cambrian News was told earlier this month by the council that it had no money to fix long-standing issues in Aberystwyth.

The Cambrian News earlier this month asked Ceredigion County Council why a wooden bridge on the castle grounds, that has been fenced off for two years, and the wooden jetty near the former paddling pool on the promenade had not been repaired.

Both sites have been cordoned off with large metal fences.

Ceredigion council told the Cambrian News at the time that “work is ongoing with a view of identifying funding to undertake repair/replacement work to this infrastructure”, but said “there is currently no timeline for completing this”, despite the issues dating back several years.

“Many infrastructure projects are implemented by making use of initial one off capital funding,” the council added.

“However, there is seldom provision for maintenance and repair costs or those associated with removal or replacement when the infrastructure reaches end of life.”

While money has been denied to the long-standing issues at the two sites, the council has splashed the cash on the car park in Cardigan.

A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “The Cardigan Fairfield has been purchased by Ceredigion County Council.

“It will remain in use as a car park.

“There are arrangements in place to allow the fair to continue using the car park.

“The purchase price was £600,000.”

Ceredigion County Council had not yet responded to questions over whether the £600,000 purchase of the car park would save the council money in the long-term compared to its current lease arrangements.