SAVE NEW QUAY CENTRAL CAR PARK

This is about New Quay’s Central Car Park and a community refusing to be pushed aside.

Barcud Housing Association, a publicly funded Community Benefit Society, speculatively bought the Central Car Park despite previous planning permissions on the site having been rejected and made it clear they could close it if they chose. They then submitted plans that would have removed over 200 car parking spaces, around a third of New Quay’s total car parking provision, in a town already under pressure.

The council’s planning and highways departments supported those plans and recommended approval. Many people were told it was a done deal. The community did not accept that.

Residents, businesses and supporters came together, gave up their time and made clear what the car park actually means to New Quay.

Against the odds, councillors listened and refused the application. It was close, too close but it proved something important - community action works.

Barcud has now appealed. Once again, public money, our money, is being used to pay lawyers and consultants to try to overturn a democratic decision. A significant amount of public money has already been wasted on this scheme, and more is now being spent.

Many of us have lost confidence in the way the council’s planning and highways departments handled this case. We made a formal complaint about their conduct and decision making, including serious concerns about how this application was assessed, yet eight months later there has been no meaningful response. That silence speaks volumes. With no accountability and no reassurance that lessons have been learned, we are now escalating the matter to the Ombudsman. This is not just about New Quay. It is about demanding proper scrutiny so other communities in Ceredigion are not subjected to the same failures and left to deal with the consequences.

WHY WE ARE RAISING MONEY

Rule 6 allows the community to become a formal party to the appeal, able to submit evidence and respond fully, not just send in comments.

We are raising funds to support this challenge in stages. Our initial target is £5,000, which will allow us to take the first critical step, instructing our own lawyers and formally entering the appeal process on an equal footing and ensuring justice is served.

However, this appeal will not stop there. Responding properly to Barcud’s case, preparing evidence and seeing this through will require further work and further funding.

This first target gets us started. It gives the community a seat at the table and the ability to push back effectively, but it is only the beginning.

Every pound raised strengthens our position. If we exceed £5,000, those funds will be used directly to continue the challenge and ensure the community’s voice remains heard all the way through the appeal process.

Imagine New Quay with a third less parking at the height of the season? Cars circling the town, queues backing up, people giving up and turning away. Businesses losing trade, residents struggling to get in and out, daily life becoming a constant frustration. A town that no longer works as it should.

We are fed up with being overlooked. Fed up with poor decision making. Fed up with being told to accept things that make no sense for the place we live in and love. We have already shown what we can do together. Now we need help to finish the job.

If you care about New Quay and believe communities should have a real say in decisions that shape their future, please give what you can and stand with us.

Thank you.

If you would like to sign our petition please follow this link https://c.org/fGtrHh6K6X

We also have an Instagram page which we update regularly https://www.instagram.com/savenewquaycarpark?igsh=MWNyN2pneDUxaDd3dA==

We also have a web page https://newquaytradersceredigion.co.uk/