Editor

I would like to express my support for Cllr Mair Benjamin in her attempts to address the many issues currently facing Aberystwyth town (Cambrian News, 5August edition).

Having recently visited towns and villages in Cornwall and South Wales, which were all clean, tidy, full of flowerbeds, planters and hanging baskets showing off each location to its best, it is clear that the pandemic cannot be used as an excuse for the degradation of Aberystwyth.

Walking and driving through Aber is a very depressing experience these days.

It is dirty, unkempt, neglected and grey, not a hanging basket or planter in sight, while flowerbeds have been grassed over and pavement verges left unmown.It is as if there is a deliberate attempt to make it as ugly as possible to deter visitors.

It used to be so very different.The flowerbeds in Queen’s Square were sought-after locations for wedding and graduation photos; now there is nothing but grass.On the seafront, the raised beds used to be full of colour, now they are full of weeds.

Added to this, the streets always seem to be dirty, seedy and full of rubbish.

The issue of closed-down shops and the unsightly building site where the hotel burned down, may be beyond the control of Aberystwyth town and Ceredigion county councils, but many of the other issues are their direct responsibility.

The neglect and decline of Aberystwyth began well before the pandemic, but it appears that the council is doing all in its power to accelerate this decline, while people’s focus is elsewhere.Surely a town that claims to be a seaside resort wants to attract tourists to the area. There is nothing attractive about Aberystwyth these days.

Hazel Couch

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