THE LOSS of more than £500,000 in regeneration cash for Aberystwyth after Ceredigion County Council failed to find a taker has been described as a major blow to the town.

The money, which had been offered to the council as part of the Welsh Government’s Town Centre Loan Scheme, had been earmarked by the council at the last minute for hotelier Vince Morgans to help with work on the former Deva nursing home on the seafront.

But the authority discovered when processing the application from Mr Morgans of Morgans Properties Ltd that it could not provide the loan and the council missed the Welsh Government deadline to use the funding.

The authority applied to the Welsh Government to retain the money so it could be used for other projects, but the request was rejected.

Cllr Ceredig Davies, the leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, was disappointed not to have been told about the issue.

He said: “The loss of £500,000 of investment in Aberystwyth is an economic blow for our town. What message does this convey to the Welsh Government? Will they not think that our local authority lacks an economic strategy that could boost jobs and trade in the town?

“The Welsh Government regularly comes up with financial offers that have to be spent within certain criteria and within a certain time frame.

“The onus on the council is to have either its own projects or third party projects in a file on a shelf ready for when the offer comes along.

“For an administration that professes to be open in the matter it operates it is a poor reflection on this openness when councillors have to rely on the press for their information.”

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