A petition raised 8,500 votes in support of the referendum

The Welsh assembly has approved new regulations meaning Ceredigion Council can now hold a referendum on whether its mayor should be elected by voters

If people vote yes, it will be the first directly-elected mayor in Wales.

Ceredigion Council has not yet confirmed when the referendum will take place but it has to be held before 23 May.

The mayoral system is more democratic and accountable than any other system in local government Simon Brooks, Cymuned

The assembly was forced into action after grassroots campaigners collected 8,500 names on a petition calling for the referendum.

It followed protests in Ceredigion against plans to build 6,500 new homes in the county.

Campaigners claim the houses will destroy the local environment, damage the Welsh language. They say too many of the planned properties are executive-type developments, which local people cannot afford.

"It's been very frustrating for campaigners for an elected mayor in Ceredigion not knowing when the referendum would be held, or indeed what the rules for holding it would be," said Simon Brooks, spokesperson for the Welsh language pressure group Cymuned, one of the groups behind the campaign.

"The mayoral system is more democratic and accountable than any other system in local government."

A Welsh assembly spokesman said that how the referendum would be conducted was up to Ceredigion Council.

Ceredigion's leader Councillor Dai Lloyd Evans said the date of the referendum would be decided by full council at their meeting next Tuesday.