CARDIGAN Castle should be attracting customers to the town’s shops in their droves but business taxes and high parking prices have prevented them from flourishing, according to a prominent local businessman.

Queen’s Bakery, run by Martin Radley, is one of a number of business across Wales to feature in S4C programme Huw Edwards: Datganoli 20 (S4C, September 19), 9.30pm) to mark 20 years of devolution, as the presenter and broadcaster returns to Cardigan for the first time in 10 years.

But as revealed in the programme, the town’s businesses were given a boost recently when parking machines were broken.

“A while ago, the parking machines were out of action and a lot more shoppers came to the town to shop leisurely, meet people, go into cafes, no worries," said Cardigan Traders chairman Mr Radley.

He says the County Council doesn’t provide enough assistance to business owners. “They don’t say ‘How can we help the shopping centre in Cardigan?’ and that’s exactly what they could do.”

Short stay parking is nowhere near enough to take full advantage of what the town has to offer, he says. “Sometimes, people wanting to come down and support the little local shops would put money in and would have to run around like George North on acid before the ticket ran out! If they were given an hour, they could pay for another hour and have two.”

Although Ceredigion County Council and the Welsh Government have means of supporting businesses like the bakery to pay business taxes, they are still too high, according to Mr Radley.

“We want to attract businesses into the town and the fact is that business taxes are high and parking spaces are hard to find. That isn’t going to attract businesses. We’re lucky that [business taxes] have gone down a little bit and we’re having some support from Ceredigion County Council and the Assembly in Cardiff. But we still say it’s too high for this area.”

Although he says he has cause to feel “confident” about the future.

“The thing is, in the end, you have to feel confident to open the door in the first place. A lot more people now want to support the little shops. We sell high quality goods and they’re prepared to pay to ensure that they get them,” he said

Huw Edwards added: “The most striking conclusion for me, 20 years on from presenting the devolution coverage from the studio, is that the people of Wales have long since accepted the existence of a government for Wales in Cardiff, as well as the National Assembly.

“The idea of devolution, an idea which was so controversial 20 years ago, is completely normal today. There you have the biggest change that Wales has seen in recent times. And let’s remember, this is a journey which has only just begun.”

On 19 September 1997, Welsh Secretary Ron Davies addressed the nation on a "very good morning in Wales". It was the morning after the biggest night in recent Welsh history as Wales began its journey as a devolved nation.

Huw Edwards was there to see events unfold on referendum results night. Now 20 years since Ron Davies' victory speech, in the S4C programme Huw Edwards: Datganoli 20 on Tuesday, September 19, he visits individuals and businesses across Wales to find out how devolution shapes our lives today.

To mark 20 years of devolution, S4C will also broadcast a special edition of the panel discussion show Pawb a'i Farn: Datganoli 20 live from the Senedd building on Thursday, 21 September.

First Minister, Carwyn Jones will be on the panel alongside the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, Elin Jones, the Conservative MP David Davies and Professor Richard Wyn Jones from Cardiff University, with Dewi Llwyd chairing the discussion.

Delving deep into lives across Wales, what difference has the past 20 years made to the country? And what is the forecast for the future, as devolution in Britain faces its biggest challenge yet in the shadow of Brexit?