Disabled drivers say they have been made to fear driving into Aberystwyth due to the lack of parking in key areas of town.

Disabled residents say they now find themselves in a difficult position, ‘afraid’ to come into town and access the services they need.

Disabled parking was removed from many streets in Aberystwyth with the set up of safe zones and the widening of pavements during the pandemic. They have remained since, as part of the experimental traffic regulation orders brought in after the pandemic.

The Ceredigion Disability Forum has expressed its concern over the situation its members, and other disabled residents in Aberystwyth now face. Their concerns apply to many roads that some of its members need to reach on a daily basis.

Some of these include Baker Street and Pier street, where disabled drivers used to be allowed to park on the double yellow lines. Others include Portland street, Market street and Terrace Road which lost their disabled parking as part of the widening of their pavements.

Julie Parker, a member of the Forum said the impact of this on Terrace Road and Portland Street has been particularly harmful.

She said: “One lady in the forum has been having a lot of problems around Boots, she needs to go there everyday for medication. But the widened pavements around it mean that it’s nearly impossible for us to park there. “She’s also said these widened pavements don’t drain properly, and is worried that come wintertime they may freeze and become slippery.” She continued: “Lots [0of people] in the forum have said their parents will no longer go into town, they’ve lost their confidence to drive through, and they can’t find spaces when they’re there — the spaces they can find are too far away.

“The council have been listening, but it seems like they don’t understand the problem. They think they’ve created more than there was before. But the thing about disabled parking is that it’s not so much about how many spaces there are, but about where these spaces are.”

The forum is meeting with Ceredigion County Council on 16 December, hoping to raise their concerns before the end of a consultation period on the traffic measures in Aberystwyth on 2 January.

Mrs Parker added: “They’re not putting out a paper consultation like it’s normally done — so not many people actually know there is a consultation. “What’s funny is, the proposals are up on a site called ‘have your say, Ceredigion’, but you can’t have your say on it. The only way you can say anything is by emailing the council itself.”

When asked about the situation, Ceredigion county council said: “There are no other plans at present to change any parking arrangements ahead of the next scheduled review of parking on county roads in 2023/24.”