Keeping a local Welsh family living in Cardigan is more important than any Assembly planning guidelines, according to local councillors.

Ceredigion's development control committee have given the go-ahead to plans for a house at Gwynt y Mor, Gotrel, Ferwig - despite planning officers saying it was outside the Cardigan settlement area and a warning from the council's solicitor that they shouldn't consider personal circumstances when making planning decisions.

Local couple Alun and Rachel Williams have been given the land by Alun's father after their search for a home in Cardigan drew a blank because of cost.

Rachel, who has just had a baby, told councillors that the family had been living in a flat at Gotrel for five years.

"As our family has grown we need more space. There are a 100 plots in Cardigan but we have found it difficult to find one we can afford," she said.

She added that Alun, a volunteer coastguard, worked part time on the farm and her mother-in-law helped with childcare.

"We will be building a home for a lifetime and bringing our children up in Cardigan," she said.

Local county councillor John Adams-Lewis said he backed the scheme to the hilt.

"I support this 100%," he said, adding that he felt the plot should be included in the Cardigan settlement area.

"We are here to represent Cardigan people and protect the Welsh language and culture," he said.

He was backed by Cllr Peter Davies.

"We want to keep people in local communities. We want to keep society alive for the future," he said.

And Cllr Lyndon Lloyd said: "This is the type of application that we as rural councillors have a duty to support."

Cllr Towyn Evans, back at his first council meeting following his stroke earlier this summer, said: "It's common sense that this piece of land has been offered to them. It ticks every box for me."