Town Centre ‘disaster zone’

There was anger and frustration in Welshpool town centre this morning as one-way road construction, gas works, a travelling fun fare, misinformed motorists and a community of travellers all contributed to chaotic scenes.

The new one-way system work ground to a halt after an hour in Church Street Car Park due to motorists being unaware that it was taking place and, by 10am this morning, six cars were still parked in the work zone with contractors declaring “there’s nothing we can do until they are moved”.

That work has split the car park in two and taken around 15 per cent of its parking capacity and to compound the problems, a community of travellers who moved into the car park on Wednesday were still there despite offering assurances that they would have left by morning.

Town centre parking has already been decimated by the fun fare constructed on the Somerfield Car Park for the weekend and, along with the ongoing gas works on Church Bank, has contributed to a frustrating morning for townsfolk.

“It is a bloody disaster zone,” one man told mywelshpool. “There are people wondering around the car park trying to find the pay and display machines because the main one has been taken out of service by the one-way works. The only other one was being used as a clothesline by the travellers so a lot of people have simply parked and not paid. It is not a good start to the works is it?”

Powys County Council held discussions with the travelling community yesterday and were told that they would leave this morning.

The one-way work in the car park is expected to last for 10 weeks; the fun fare will be on until Sunday and the gas works could continue for another four weeks.