A group of residents have launched a bid to hold a judicial review into a Ceredigion County Council decision to push ahead with changes to parking in and around Aberystwyth’s south promenade despite an overwhelmingly negative response during a consultation.

The council rubber-stamped plans to scrap between 42 and 55 parking spaces earlier this year, despite huge local objection as part of plans to turn the section of the prom into a “more vibrant, accessible, and attractive space.”

A cross-party group of councillors made calls for the decision to be brought back before councillors as they feel it did not receive sufficient scrutiny, but that bid was rejected.

Councillors also heard that the consultation held into the plans was “poorly delivered”.

Aberystwyth councillor and Cabinet member Alun Williams told a meeting that it was “the worst run consultation” on a major issue that he has “ever seen.”

David Day, who runs The Hut on the promenade, called the changes a “disaster for the future of Aberystwyth” and backed councillors who attempted to ‘call-in’ the decision and have it reversed.

While work on transforming the area has already begun, the Ceredigion Residents Action Group has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the decision in a bid to get work stopped.

The application claims that the order to move ahead with the changes was “made unlawfully”, with “correct procedures not followed.”

The reasons given by the council to go ahead with the plan were “inadequate and incomplete”, the group claim, and the public consultation was “meaningless exercise with the outcome pre-determined” by the council.

“The information provided in the documents presented for the public consultation were inadequate as they did not include sufficient details of the proposals to allow the consultees to properly consider them,” the group said in its High Court submissions.

“As the proposals prohibit loading or unloading of vehicles and would restrict the passage of public service vehicles a public inquiry should have been carried out.”

The group also said an Economic Impact Assessment “does not appear to have been carried out and was not made available to consultees” while the “impact on residents and businesses has not been properly considered.”

“The provision of suitable and adequate parking facilities on and off the highway has not been considered,” the application adds.

The plans, which will see parking spaces lost in a bid to remove cars from the area and provide more space for cyclists and pedestrians, were given the go-ahead despite the scheme receiving 327 objections and a 726 signature petition against it.

The plans, which will create space for a two way system around the castle end of the promenade and create extra space for cyclists and pedestrians, will be paid for out of the Levelling Up Funding grant award of £10.8M given to the council in 2021.

Councillors heard that if the “transformative” plans for the area weren’t given the go-ahead, then the council would lose out on the UK Government cash.