A ROW has blown up over plans to charge motorists for parking on Aberystwyth’s seafront.

The county council has appointed consultants Price Waterhouse Cooper to identify £1.5m of cost-cutting measures and they have recommended parking charges are introduced.

Four county councillors and just one town councillor, Cllr Brendan Somers, were invited to a workshop on Monday to discuss the proposal.

Cllr Brian Davies, who represents the Rheidol ward of Aberystwyth, said: “This will have an impact on all residents in the Rheidol ward.”

And he added: “I have two concerns: one is that if they do put parking meters on the sea front, those cars that normally park there will then look for free parking in town, putting more pressure on residents who are already struggling to find free parking near their homes.

“What happened in Cardigan over the summer shows just how the parking meters fail — shopkeepers saw an increase in sales because there was free parking.”

Cllr Wendy Morris said the current system works fine as it is.

She said: “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

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