IMPORTANT NOTE: This guest opinion post was received from Star Family Ltd following this article
On a bright afternoon in Aberystwyth’s Conservation Area, you might easily miss the scruffy weeds pushing through cracks in the pavement, the tell-tale stains of animal droppings in alleyways, or the faint but unmistakable tang of human urine near rubbish bags and bins overflowing with litter. It’s a striking backdrop for any new venture that dares to invest here—yet that’s exactly what Big Chefs set out to do when they proposed a fresh, traditionally styled timber frontage for 41 Great Darkgate Street, partnering with local suppliers and producers and pledging to use locally sourced ingredients wherever possible.
From the start, it felt like trying to pour new wine into old bottles. Despite collaborating closely with Aberystwyth’s finest butchers, bakers and growers, Big Chefs found their every revision met with fresh objections. Aberystwyth Town Council demanded bilingual lettering be shoe-horned into the design—even though other long-established shop signs on the same street display no such requirement. Meanwhile, Ceredigion County Council marked the same timber sign as “too modern” without ever spelling out what “modern” actually meant, or revealing the specialist officer whose opinion was supposedly binding.
As if that weren’t enough, CCC insisted on forcing a brand-new planning application for a change of use—despite the premises having operated as a takeaway under the Subway banner for over twenty years. Suddenly, the simple act of opening a restaurant felt like navigating a maze with ever-shifting walls and no exit in sight.
It wasn’t a clash of high-falutin ideals or heritage-minded guardianship, but something more insidious: a hidden web of shifting rules that seems designed to frustrate rather than foster new businesses. While bureaucrats squabble over the precise angle of Welsh text, corners of our town lie neglected. You can’t help but wonder: if the people who care most about Aberystwyth’s future can’t navigate these opaque hurdles, what chance is there for anyone else?
The frustration goes beyond Big Chefs. Every passer-by sees the potholes that remain unfilled, the ragged hedgerows no one clears, and the trash that festers in plain sight. Yet when a committed investor offers to breathe life—and dozens of local jobs—into a vacant shop, they are met not with gratitude or guidance, but with endless rounds of demands that never quite make sense on paper.
Aberystwyth deserves better. We want our streets to hum with new cafés, galleries and vibrant shopfronts that honour our history without being stifled by it. We want clear rules and fair play, not arbitrary gatekeepers pulling up goalposts when we’re halfway through the field. Above all, we want a town that lives up to its promise—a place where ambition and culture thrive, and where the only thing blocking progress is the litter under our feet, not the pen of some hidden bureaucrat.
In the end, the respective decision makers have made it clear: if a new venture, investment or project doesn’t tickle the fancy of old, tired mindsets, you are not welcome here. Consequently, Big Chefs is saying hwyl long before it ever got the pleasure of saying Croeso to its customers.
@aberystwythdotnet O na! Ta beth…