Guilsfield road closure clanger causes uproar

Powys County Council dropped a major clanger this morning by announcing a road closure that isn’t actually going to happen.

The authority emailed a letter out from the Head of Highways, Transport and Recycling to parents and carers of high school children to inform them that the Guilsfield bus would be changing routes due to “the closure from the first Guilsfield turning to Windmill Lane” from April 20 to the end of May.

It caused instant uproar as it is the same road that was partially closed for six weeks before Christmas to allow for Severn Trent's local offshoot Hafren Dyfrydwy to install new pipes.

Local county councillors were also in the dark, but it appears there has been a mix-up with the Back Road resurfacing work that is being carried out on those dates, which means the bus will have to take a diversion.

A source told us from County Hall that “the A490 between Welshpool and Guilsfield is remaining open while the gas renewal works are taking place on Brook Street (Back Road)”.

They also said that “the public transport team will update the letter and provide a new version to the school”.