Aberystwyth “has the structure and architectural bones of a truly outstanding town but a “lack of maintenance is causing issues” in its conservation area, an appraisal has found.

Ceredigion County Council has launched conservation area appraisals and management plans for eight towns and villages in the county, with plans signed off to send the documents out to consultation.

In Aberystwyth, concerns have been raised over the impact of “piecemeal development” in the town centre, finding there “has been a long term loss of traditional architectural features on domestic properties such as doors and windows and that this has cumulatively eroded the architectural character of the area.”

The appraisal for Aberystwyth says: “Arguably the biggest impact from the modern era is lack of maintenance and loss of architectural detailing, primarily on residential properties and retail premises.

“Whilst many traditional buildings In Aberystwyth have been altered over time, their alterations have often been of high quality and are now deemed to have a significance of their own.

“It seems unlikely that future generations will endow modern poor quality windows and shopfronts with the same significance.

“Aberystwyth has the structure and architectural bones of a truly outstanding town but, not surprisingly in a harsh economic climate, lack of maintenance is causing issues.”

Plans to safeguard Aberystwyth’s conservation in the future include new structured guidance on shop frontage and signage, with limits on colours that can be used on exterior walls.

“Over time some of the historic shop fronts have been insensitively altered mainly due to modern and unsympathetic advertisements, harsh corporate colour schemes and too many signs,” the appraisal says.

The plan calls for the creation of an ‘area of special advertisement control’ to ensure guidelines are followed.

Ceredigion County Council should beef up enforcement of conservation area developments, including looking at previous removals of traditional features and unauthorised alterations on listed buildings, the appraisal says.

The appraisal says that while Aberystwyth has an “aesthetic to please most critics”, it warns that a “relatively high proportion of empty shops and upper floors, lost street trees and dense traffic detract from the aesthetic values of the town, mostly due to the impact on vitality, visual clutter and build-up of maintenance these cause.”

The appraisal says that “this aspect of the town has a high potential for improvement.”

The management plan recommends extending the conservation area to include Aberystwyth Pier’s and the funicular railway to the top of Constitution Hill.

An initial public consultation on the plans called for Trefechan to be included in the conservation area, but the appraisal found that extending the area to Trefechan “would dilute the overall strong character and special interest of the existing conservation area.”

The documents will go out to public consultation later this year.

Once fully approved, the Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan for Aberystwyth will be adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance to use to inform decision making.

Reviews of the appraisal and management plan should then be undertaken at “regular intervals” but at least within 10 years.