Backbenchers win small concessions but Day Centre campaign is losing the war

After a full Council debate lasting most of the day, backbench Ceredigion councillors this week finally won three minor concessions in the continuing controversy over the future of Park Avenue Day Centre in Aberystwyth.  

The Council Cabinet have already taken a decision to re-locate the Day Centre to the ‘lower ground floor’ of the Old Town Hall in order to make room for the proposed Mill Street development. The issue has been the subject of a vigorous campaign to maintain the current Day Centre.

The small concessions won on Thursday were:

*  Guaranteed ‘ownership’ of a second room for the Day Centre on the lower ground floor of the Old Town Hall

*  Consideration of a canopy over the entrance / patio

*  A review of the suitability of the new centre in 12 months.

Nine councillors, including this one, had earlier voted for an immediate review of other options as a location and venue for the Centre after the Council's Social Services Committee had expressed dismay at the cramped accommodation on the new site during a tour on Wednesday. That vote was lost by 14 votes to nine with five abstentions.

A council legal officer told the meeting that the decision to close the current Day Centre in Park Avenue was "irrevocable".

The photo shows the unfinished dining area in the new Day Centre. More photos of the old town hall conversion, including the new town library which will occupy most of the building, can be seen here