A PROPOSED extension to Cardigan’s wastewater treatment works will send the much-loved Netpool Park into “a downward spiral”, residents have warned.

Campaigners have reported fears that the £20 million project will have an ‘extreme’ impact on their homes near Cardigan’s historic Netpool quarter.

Spokesperson Rose Barter told town councillors that the access route Dŵr Cymru had chosen would pass right through the park.

“Yes, the sewage works are absolutely needed, but I can see these works sending the park into a downward spiral,” she said.

“We reckon that around 1,000 lorries will be going up there as there is so much earth to remove, plus there are an awful lot of extremely bad hazards.

“We are calling on Dŵr Cymru to come up with a serious alternative route as the research they have carried out so far is risible.”

Dŵr Cymru are seeking an extension to their existing works on open pasture land at Netpool Road.

They say the works will reduce the amount of pollution in the Teifi, as well as helping address a long-standing planning issue in the county.

A supporting statement by agent Ove Arup and Partners Limited says the expansion would reduce spills of untreated effluent, improving water quality in the long-term.

But campaigners are now calling on Cardigan Town Council to take ‘urgent action’ to help preserve Netpool Park.

In addition, they claim that a greater volume of traffic will pose a threat to residents of Greenfield Row, as well as to youngsters using Cardigan SkatePark, walkers accessing Coed y Mwldan Woodlands and visitors to Cardigan Cemetery and Chapel of Rest.

They are also proposing a ‘safer’ alternative access route via Old Castle Road through land currently owned by Home Bargains.

Cllr Catrin Miles said while the water company’s plans might initially appear “fine and dandy”, walking the proposed access route provided a different perspective.

“Greenfield Row has no pavement and doors open straight out onto the road,” she told colleagues, while Cllr Nick Bolton agreed the plans were “problematic, whichever way you look at them”.

Councillors were due to walk the proposed access route themselves yesterday evening (Wednesday) in order to observe potential issues first-hand.