CEREDIGION MP Ben Lake is to meet with a Government minister to further discuss the RNLI’s plan to axe the all-weather lifeboat at New Quay.

Mr Lake again raised the issue in the House of Commons this week (Wednesday, February 27) after it had also been debated in the House of Lords the previous week.

In the latest move in the Commons, Mr Lake pressed for detailed reassurances from the Department of Transport that the removal of the all-weather lifeboat in New Quay would not diminish search and rescue capabilities in Cardigan Bay.

In reply, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Nigel Adams, said: “I thank the honourable gentleman for his work on this important issue.

“The UK Government do not anticipate that the RNLI’s decision to replace the all-weather lifeboat with the Atlantic 85 vessel will have an impact on its capability to co-ordinate search and rescue in Cardigan Bay.

“I am more than happy to work with the RNLI and to meet the honourable gentleman to discuss his concerns to ensure there is proper and correct lifeboat coverage in Cardigan Bay.”

Mr Lake said: “I look forward to meeting with the Minister in the near future to discuss my concerns as to ensure that there is proper and correct lifeboat coverage on the Ceredigion coast.”

The RNLI plans to replace the all-weather lifeboat at New Quay with an Atlantic 85 inshore craft in 2020 following a coastal review.

That decision is opposed by many in the local community and further afield and has led to the formation of the Ceredigion Lifeboat Campaign, which hopes to get the RNLI to reconsider the plan.

Nearly 30,000 have signed a petition opposing the move, which campaigners argue would leave the Ceredigion coast without all-weather cover.