Housing plans called 'threat' to Powys community centre
Welshpool Scout leaders Farell McManus and Vince Howells, who run the Clive's Own Welshpool Scout Headquarters & Community Centre (COWSHACC) have criticised plans to build dozens of houses on the Berriew Street car park surrounding the community centre.
The duo called the plans, which would reduce the car park from 450 spaces to 56 spaces, an 'existential threat' to the future of the community centre as they believe it would reduce its usage by community groups and hurt the town overall.
Mr McManus said: 'For us the plan is an existential threat. It will kill this place off. Without lots of regular users the building cannot survive, and a huge draw for those regular users is the available and accessible parking.'
The council has also looked at the concerns, and proposed knocking down Berriew Street Car Park's old toilet block to free up more spaces.
At the time of speaking to the County Times, a vaccine clinic was being held at the building, which Mr McManus pointed to as a key example of an event that would move elsewhere if the building lost its parking.
Other events that regular use the building include blood donation sessions, meetings of groups like Dementia Matters and Parkinson's UK, as well as community groups and classes.
He added: 'A lot of those meetings and operations have a user base who rely on easily accessible parking close to the building, not parking elsewhere and having to walk here.
'We don't want to stop the development of new houses, but we want proper consideration for how best to include them.'
They also felt that the loss of hundreds of parking spaces would make large events in the town less viable, saying that many visitors use the Berriew Street car park to access the town centre.
Mr Howells said: 'Without those accessible parking spaces, many organisations and groups that use this building would not hold their events here. Then you have several Welshpool events that might not be viable if parking was scarce. Things like the 1940s Weekend, the Cycle tour, the 10k race. They need parking for large scale events.
'There are already enough lost car parking spaces in Welshpool and I think it would be short sighted to take these ones as well.
'The council are there to benefit the community but I think a decision like this is detrimental to the community and to town businesses.
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