RESIDENTS of Blaenporth have vented their anger at Aberporth community councillors over the planned distribution of a £45,000 community payment arising from the setting up of a 40-acre solar farm.

Elgin Energy have offered the payment following the establishment of the Llwyn Du Solar Farm in Bowls Road, but a bitter row erupted after councillors insisted that the money would be distributed throughout the entire community.

Furious Blaenporth villagers, who say the money could be used to set up a much-needed community facility at St David’s Church, maintain they should pocket the windfall as they are the ones having to draw their curtains at certain times of the day to block the glare from the solar panels.

And, during a series of increasingly heated exchanges at a stormy public meeting at Aberporth Village Hall, they accused councillors of being “unprofessional” for not providing figures to support their own case and for also failing to provide a working microphone.

David Clinch, vice-chairman of the Blaenporth Community Management Committee, claimed the council’s decision to award funds across the entire ward “appears to have been made unilaterally without any consultation or vote”.

He added: “We contend that for you to proceed in this manner is morally indefensible and unconstitutional.

“Blaenporth Community Management Committee formally requests that you postpone your plan to award monies from this fund across the entire Aberporth ward, and place the matter before an independent and impartial review panel whose decision shall be binding on all parties.”

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