Contentious plans to build 30 affordable homes on a New Quay car park have been recommended for approval.

Housing association Barcud is seeking permission from Ceredigion County Council for a £7.5m 100 per cent affordable scheme at Central Car Park, Towyn Road, following an earlier pre-application consultation.

It is estimated the 30 homes would lead to up to an extra 98 permanent residents.

The site currently operates as a pay and display car park, owned and managed by Barcud as a commercial enterprise, which it says it could cease at any time.

The proposal includes keeping 91 of the parking spaces at the site for public use, which council officers say could be secured “in perpetuity” if the scheme is approved.

The application was recommended for conditional approval at the March meeting of the council’s development management committee, having been deferred from the February meeting for a site visit, but was deferred again.

New Quay Town Council has objected to the proposals, raising concerns including the loss of parking spaces and its impact on the tourism industry, a lack of public transport in the town to cater for additional residents, and also questions the demand for one-bed units in the town, and 29 objections raised similar issues.

At the March committee meeting, members heard New Quay Traders Association had “submitted a number of significant documents” in which they “raised real concerns as to procedural irregularities”.

The application was deferred to a future planning committee for the additional documents to be assessed along with any further information from the applicant.

Since that deferral, New Quay Traders Association has created a petition against the scheme, Save New Quay car park -Protect our future, complete with QR code signs dotted around the town, saying the loss of the car parking would have a detrimental impact of local business.

“The car park is central to our local economy and taking away this space will lead to a significant decrease in visitors and tourists,” they said.

“It’s a simple equation – less parking equals less visitors.

“Less visitors will impact our economy and cause job losses. Not only will this impact economic growth but also cause local congestion and less spaces for local residents.”

That petition has attracted nearly 2,500 signatures to date.

The application is again recommended for approval at the May 14 meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee.

An officer report says claims by opponents to the scheme that the loss of parking is being “disregarded” and “dismissed” is refuted by the authority.

“To claim that the viability and vitality of the town as a whole will ‘plainly’ be undermined is conjecture,” the council documents say.

“The LPA would contest that the proposed development presents significant year-around economic benefits to the local economy with the addition of up to 98 permanent residents into the heart of the town – New Quay being the settlement with the highest number of second homes and residences used as short-term lets across the whole of Ceredigion.”