ABERYSTWYTH Town Council has said that a lack of town cleanliness and neglect of historic buildings is affecting Aberystwyth’s important conservation area, and that developers and landlords should be held accountable for damage to historic features.

The council was responding to Ceredigion County Council’s Conservation Area Appraisals and Vacant Listed Building Audit which “aims to provide a detailed picture of the special interest of the six towns conservation areas and identify opportunities and priorities for actions, an assessment of the areas, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats”.

Discussing the future of the conservation area in Aberystwyth last month, the town council’s planning committee said there were a number of issues currently affecting the conservation area including “town cleanliness and lack of cleaning regime”, the “neglect of historic buildings”, a “loss of historic features” and a “lack of enforcement”.

The committee said that changes within the conservation area had seen the loss of front gardens – often now used as bin stores or for car parking – as well as the loss of Welsh place names.

Council members also said that a “lack of maintenance by landlords” was detrimental to the town’s conservation area, while feeling there was a “lack of meaningful consultation and engagement regarding changes and developments”.­

The committee called for the conservation area to be extended to include the Royal Pier, and listed a number of prominent buildings within Aberystwyth that need to be protected, including its pubs, the whole of the promenade, both the old and new town libraries and the area’s chapels and churches.

The council also said that Plascrug Avenue, Maes Gwenfrewi, existing greens, the castle grounds, street trees in the town and front gardens within the conservation area all need to be protected as green spaces.

The Vacant Listed Building Audit list for the Aberystwyth conservation area includes the Belle Vue, County Hall, the former Deva building, the former Claire’s on Great Darkgate Street, two units in the Old School development, Siop y Prom, Buarth Hall, Furniture Cave, and the Gas Showroom.

Aberystwyth Town Council’s planning committee, in its response to the appraisal said: “Aberystwyth is special because of its gradual growth from the castle over a long period of time.

“It is a unique town because of the beauty and variety of the historic architecture. Developers and landlords should be accountable for removal or damage to historic features, and enforcement process should be more effective. Stronger conservation conditions should be introduced as part of the planning application process.”

The findings of the appraisals and audit will be used to inform future development plans and “will include a review of the boundary of the areas and their setting”, the county council said.

Over the past 12 months, the Cambrian News has run a series of ‘Dirty Old Town’ articles, calling for repairs and improvements to be made across Aberystwyth, from the castle and promenade, to Great Darkgate Street and Tanybwlch.