Pedestrianised town centre areas, more safe access for cyclists, better walking routes and greener spaces for six of Ceredigion’s town centres could all be on the cards in works that will cost tens of millions of pounds, a new document outlines.

The document: A Strategy for Greening 6 Ceredigion Towns, which sets out to boost Green and Blue (GBI) infrastructure in Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, Cardigan, Lampeter, Llandysul and Tregaron, was produced earlier this year.

Five projects are mooted for each of the six towns in the document, seen by the Cambrian News.

The document says: “At the local level, there is significant ambition and support for making Ceredigion greener and more resilient.

“This strategy hopes to progress these GBI ambitions and to prioritise a number of projects which can seek longer term funding.

“It will ensure that we are making the best use of resources in order to tackle the key issues and priorities highlighted through both data and stakeholder engagement.”

A “green corridor” from the railway station leading to the promenade, which could require the pedestrianisation of Terrace Road, along with a plan to join up nature trails into one long route around the town, are just some of the projects outlined for Aberystwyth.

The ‘green corridor’ “would connect the station to the seafront and follow Terrace Road and would use structural planting of street trees and “rain garden” borders in place of existing railing and bollards,” the document said.

“The outcome of ongoing pedestrian trials along Terrace Road will determine whether this location will become a pedestrian route, a traffic calmed route or otherwise,” it adds.

The town’s ‘flagship project’ is to “join up Aberystwyth’s web of beautiful and biodiverse local nature reserves, hills, woodlands, rivers and coastline with a traffic-free round walk”, along with “high quality wooden signage”, to create the Aberystwyth Circular Nature Trail.

The scheme to link routes from South Beach to Constitution Hill to Parc Natur Pneglis to the National Library and University to Llanbadarn to Penparcau allotments to Pendinas Hill and Tan y Bwlch will cost between £9m and £10m, the document outlines.

Other projects for Aberystwyth are a “town centre green spine” from North Parade to South Beach “through a mixture of structural planting of native trees, rain garden borders and street planters along Great Darkgate Street”; increasing community food growing in Penparcau “to build on the foundation of support among the local community”; and a plan to restore the habitat of the water vole on the Rheidol river “to restore thriving populations.”

Scheme documents said: “Aberystwyth has relatively high levels of green space and local nature reserves.

“However, there is a challenge in ensuring these are actively used by communities and accessible to all.

“There is also high demand for additional growing space among local communities.”

Visit the Cambrian News website tomorrow for a look at what’s in store for another of Ceredigion’s town centres