14/01/2010

Clarach Road car park gets the go-ahead

Ceredigion Council’s Development Control Committee have voted unanimously to give planning permission to a 200-space car park on Clarach Road to the north of Aberystwyth. Half the car park is intended to act as a replacement for the main Bronglais Hospital car park during the intensive building programme due to start there in February whilst the other half will be for University students. In five years time the site will revert to being solely for university students.

The application has proved to be controversial, with local residents objecting strongly to the use of a greenfield site on the edge of town.

The hospital need to find a semi-permanent off site car park as part of the planning permission for their new development in order to avoid chaos in the streets around the hospital. Similarly, the university have long sought a car park to prevent its students having to park in the streets around the town.

Although protestors have argued that catering for cars in any way at all worsens the problems they cause, many environmentalists regard Park & Rides as the best way to reduce pollution caused by traffic jams in town centres.

Aberystwyth University have stated an intention to concentrate all their facilities, some of which are currently located close to the town centre, on the Penglais campus in the future. They have several planning applications in process at the moment with more believed to be on the way
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