CARDIGAN businesses have reacted with fury to plans by Ceredigion County Council to close the main road through the town in response to coronavirus regulations.

The council has yet to officially comment on any proposals but it is understood it is set to close both the High Street and Pendre to traffic from 10am-6pm to promote ‘safe zones’ for pedestrians and to encourage social distancing.

But the move has attracted a storm of protest, with business owners saying there has been a complete lack of consultation and such a move could spell the end for many of them.

A petition opposing the plans has already attracted hundreds of signatures in a matter of hours.

Julian Beynon-Lewis, vice-chairman of Cardigan Traders, has met with the council to put the traders’ case but fears the decision has already been made.

Posting on social media, he said: “The Ceredigion County Council plans that I have seen will restrict vehicles from the town of Cardigan between the hours of 10am and 6pm daily and take effect from next Monday.

“This will prevent inward and outbound deliveries from taking place and will result in the loss of almost all on-street parking. There is no plan for pedestrian management but a plan to allow pubs and restaurants to allow tables and chairs in the street, despite the alcohol ban currently in place in the town centre.

“Despite my strong opposition and grave concerns, the council has already taken the decision at the highest level and will press ahead with the plans.

“I have been in retail in Cardigan since 1979 and Cardigan was a rival to Haverfordwest, Aberystwyth and gave Carmarthen a run for its money in those days. It saddens me that just as we are pulling ourselves out of the extended depression, the actions of the council are about to turn us into a forgotten backwater. It’s not even a cohesive plan.”

In a letter to the council opposing the scheme, Mr Beynon-Lewis said: “I am writing to put on record our very strong objection to the proposed plans that the council has brought forward to restrict access to vehicles in the centre of Cardigan.

“The irony is that this is intended to be a response to aid economic recovery, when in fact it is our belief that it will have entirely the opposite effect.

“All towns are different and there is no such thing as a 'one size fits all' solution and we believe that these proposals will in fact drive people away from the town centre and cause even more damage to the economy of a town that relies on the trade of the tourist season to see us through the long winter months.

“I understand that you were tasked to come up with a solution and told to be bold, but my job is to try to protect the livelihoods of the many businesses in the town who do not receive a monthly salary cheque and rely solely on trade for their livelihoods.

“Some of them have been unable to access help from any of the government schemes so have had no income for almost four months and most of their employees have been furloughed and may well lose their jobs.”

He goes on to make the following points:

  • Cardigan is a town built on a ridge and all the car parks involve negotiating steep hills to reach the main shopping streets. It is for this reason that we have opposed pedestrianisation for over 30 years. Even the Fairfield car park involves a quite steep hill if you are elderly or in a wheel chair. The only provision for disabled parking in the plan is taking over the Pendre car park - currently private licenced parking. Assuming that the licence holders (who have legal contracts) agree, this is not yet in place and will presumably take weeks to achieve. Also this will not help the elderly or infirm that need to go to a bank or post office in the High Street.
  • There is no safe footway from the Quay Street car park. Currently it is not a problem because there is very little traffic flow in Quay Street and Lower Mwldan, but when all traffic is directed that way there will be a significant hazard to public safety created. There is no pavement in Lower, Middle or Upper Mwldan, until you get to Greenfield Square either.
  • Deliveries required to take place before 10am. Most of the towns shops are micro-traders, many one man bands with little or no staff. Their deliveries come via courier firms who work to regional routes and schedules – mostly coming from hubs in Swansea. Deliveries typically take place between 11.00 am and 2.30pm and they will not be able to influence this. As many businesses work on a “just in time delivery” basis, waiting the extra day or two could mean that the customer buys online or from a competitor town instead.
  • Outbound deliveries. Quite a few food businesses and service businesses have outbound deliveries that need to go out during the day. That is why many of them hold licences in Pendre car park. Butchers, bakers, white goods retailers and other service and repairs businesses will be damaged without this facility and may be forced to quit the town centre.
  • No discussion about social distancing. With all this extra carriageway space at your disposal there appears to be no plan to segregate the pedestrians. We put forward a plan to introduce a one-way pedestrian system on the pavements which would keep the pedestrian flows from crossing thereby reducing the risk of infection. Under these proposals there would be a free for all which in our estimation is likely to make it more dangerous rather than less dangerous.
  • Retailers have all had to undertake measures in their own businesses to keep people safe and segregated and public safety is uttermost in our minds and not only for our customers but also for ourselves and our staff. We are public facing businesses that are taking significant risks by being open at all. We feel that making people walk further to the shops from car parks with no pedestrian control will make them much more at risk than if they were able to park on the street close by.
  • It is our opinion that if these plans go ahead that Priory Street and Pwllhai will need to be closed as well to avoid complete chaos and endangerment to public safety.
  • The times of the closure should be amended to 10-4pm to allow for some loading time into and out of shops at the end of the trading day. We operate a similar time frame in the Guildhall Market to allow traders to bring in goods and heavy goods to be collected. This may mitigate some of the delivery problems.
  • Speaking with my other hat on as chief executive of Menter Aberteifi, which manage the Guildhall and Market, I have deep concerns that this will also adversely affect the Market in particular and our economic viability. Also we have a huge multi-million pound, multi-agency redevelopment of the Market due to start in the autumn and wonder how these plans will impact on that.
  • There is currently a local bylaw that prohibits consumption of alcohol in the town centre. This bylaw would need to be suspended or revoked before any extension could be allowed for licenced premises to expand into the street. This will take a fair amount of time to achieve so is unlikely to happen this summer. Furthermore the evening trade in Cardigan is very quiet these days anyway. Many of the pubs have closed or only open a couple of nights a week. Assuming that the licenced trade is allowed to open soon, do we really think this will make a large economic impact or keep people any safer on the streets?
  • The only good news to come out of this is free parking, something that we have been campaigning about for very many years. Let’s hope that it mitigates some of the inevitable damage that will be done.

“Having made the point that we are opposed to these plans we will endeavour to work with the council to ensure public safety, but would urge you to take into account the points above and reverse these measures as soon as it is safe to do so.

“We see this as huge overkill and disagree with the premise that it is easier to roll back from this than the other way round. We feel that by the time you roll back, the lasting damage is done.

“If people decide that it is easier to go to competitor towns than come to Cardigan, it will be almost impossible to reverse that trend. I have been involved with retailing in Cardigan since 1979 and have seen a huge contraction of the town’s economy in that time. I really hope that this doesn’t push us over the edge.”

One trader who has contacted the Tivyside said: “Who voted for this to go through? At this rate we all might as well have a closing down sale. I’m disgusted. This is going to put a lot of us out of business."

The petition opposing pedestrianisation says: “Cardigan town is a traditional, beautiful Welsh town with lots of great unique shops, restaurants, cafes and convenience stores.

“After having such a hard time through the Covid-19 lockdown period, lots of shops are eager to open their doors and welcome people in but just as the dates are given, a spanner is thrown into the works with talks of pedestrianisation of Ceredigion towns and villages.

"I have no doubt will have a detrimental effect on Cardigan town as a whole, not just now but also for the foreseeable future.

“Many people have worked extremely hard to bring the town back from the squalor it once was, back to something to be proud of.

“There are many elderly in the town and outskirts who cannot walk far and rely on pulling up outside many shops, banks, post offices to get their essentials and do their necessary duties and this is being taken away from many if this plan goes ahead.

“Many businesses and employers are also on the verge of closing their doors permanently and are hoping for a raise in trade to possibly keep them going for another season. With this proposal it will drive people out of Cardigan and to other towns and villages in other counties and will not help the local economy or give it the financial boost that is much needed.

“We need to stand against them and oppose this outrageous plan and keep our town trading.”

To sign the petition, go to change.org/p/ceredigion-county-council-say-no-to-pedestrianisation-of-cardigan

Cardigan mayor Cllr Clive Davies said the decision to close town centres had come from Welsh Government and had been passed down to local authorities to implement.

“It applies to all towns, not just Cardigan but I hope there is common sense applied. Deliveries still need to happen and if barriers are put in place, they should be manned,” he said.

Ceredigion Council has been asked to comment.