Almost £100,000 is set to be spent on improvements across Aberystwyth, with new town maps, planters, lighting, seating and work to the castle grounds all planned before the end of the year.

Aberystwyth Town Council is pressing ahead with a package of improvements worth around £96,000 after securing funding from the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme.

The scheme will see Welsh Government funding cover 70% of the cost, with the town council required to find the remaining 30%.

£20,000 has been earmarked from Aberystwyth’s Parks and Grounds capital budget towards the contribution, with anticipated underspend across other budget headings suggested to meet the remaining cost.

The project was initially approved by the town council in February, but was unable to begin while the scheme awaited funding and allocation from the Welsh Government.

Although funding has now been secured and made available, the deadline for the work has not been extended to match the delay, leaving the council until the end of December to complete the improvements.

Speaking to Cambrian News, Steve Williams, of Aberystwyth Town Council, said: “It’s a bit of a push really to try and get it all done in time”.

The work will include new cast-iron planters, new information and noticeboards along with five additional park seats around the town.

Six radar people-counters are also planned for instalment to monitor the footfall of visitors moving through Aberystwyth.

Three new town map boards will be installed to help visitors navigate the town. Mr Williams said one is to be expected for erection in the castle grounds, another for the National Library of Wales, subject to permission, and one in Llys-Y-Brenin Square, on Terrace Road.

Festoon lighting is also planned for the upper part of the town near the Market Hall, while landscaping and other improvements will be carried out within the castle grounds.

Mr Williams added that since the Town Council took over responsibility for the castle grounds, they’re now seeking to put in “additional finances and effort” as the area “had been a bit neglected previously”.

Some elements of the original project have been scaled back to ensure work can be delivered within the shortened time frame. One proposal which will now not go ahead is refurbishment to the Old Town Market sign as “permission had not been granted from the adjacent buildings, so we have dropped that one”.

If the planned work cannot be completed by the looming December deadline, the council will be forced to apply for an extension, delays are common and could relate to a number of things; bad weather, manufacturing problems, procurement delays, late deliveries or access complications. Such factors could potentially be accepted as grounds for extension, providing that the council give valid reasoning.

When asked whether the planned upgrades to Aberystwyth town, via the £96,000 expenditure, would be noticeable at ground level, by residents, tourists and commuters, Mr Williams assured that “all the work is going on the street, everything will be visible, so yes, hopefully”.