Aberaeron ambulance station backed despite flood risk

The station will go behind a former council block converted into a health centre

Plans for a new ambulance station in Ceredigion have been approved despite warnings it is in a flood risk area.

The station will go behind council offices in Aberaeron which have been converted into a new health centre.

Natural Resources Wales objected, and council officers warned of "potentially fatal consequences" if flooding put the ambulances out of action.

But councillor Elizabeth Evans said the site did not even flood when Storm Callum caused record river levels.

The new integrated health centre is due to open in October in former social services offices at Minaeron, replacing Aberaeron Hospital and including a GP surgery along with other services.

The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST) wants to convert a former council garage at the site, near the River Aeron, into offices with space for two ambulances and first response vehicles.

WAST operations manager Rob Jeffery told councillors the new base would provide "an enhanced performance and delivery for the local community".

Stom Callum left boats in Aberaeron harbour covered in debris last October

Officers recommended councillors find a site not in a flood risk area.

But Ms Evans said: "To have the ambulance service on the site of the new health centre makes complete sense."

She stressed that the building had no history of flooding and claimed flood maps did not indicate the localised nature of flooding in Aberaeron.

"The flood plain must be respected but the building is already in situ and is raised on a concrete car park," she said.

"The integrity of this site would not be compromised."

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WAST also plans to meet concerns in New Quay about the loss of the existing ambulance station there by basing first response vehicles in the town, particularly in summer when it is full of visitors.

Councillors voted unanimously to back the proposals, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.