Moving Llanidloes’ recycling site a mile out of town is “an accident waiting to happen”, say town councillors.

The recycling site at Gorn Road moved to a new location at Llanidloes Rugby Club’s Cae Hafren playing fields on Thursday, January 30, to make way for a new housing development at the former livestock market.

At a meeting at Llanidloes Town Hall on Monday, councillors criticised Powys County Council for the lack of consultation with the local county councillor and town council.

Cllr Steve Lees described the new site at Cae Hafren near the busy A470 as “unsuitable”.

“It’s really dangerous,” he said. “I can’t stress strongly enough that if we move it there, it will be a hazard.

“There’s an accident waiting to happen on that road, on that turning.”

Cllr Trudy Davies echoed Cllr Lees’ concerns.

She said: “I’m really worried about the children and the cars coming back into Llani on a very fast road.

“It’s asking for trouble.”

The new site at Cae Hafren will be a “prime” location for dumping waste, added Cllr Alan Bennett: “There will be a tremendous amount of dumping down there because you won’t see what’s going on.”

County councillor for Llanidloes Gareth Morgan told councillors that he was “really angry” that the decision was made to move the site without consultation.

“What’s the point of our existence here if we’re ignored like that? Nobody knows better where it can go than the people living here, for goodness sake.”

Llanidloes Mayor Cllr Janet Crisp said the town council should write to Powys County Council to stress that access is “very, very poor on a fast road.”

Powys County Council announced with a week’s notice on Thursday, January 23, that the community recycling site in Llanidloes would be moving to Cae Hafren.

Cllr Heulwen Hulme, Cabinet Member for Recycling and Waste, said: “We are extremely grateful to the rugby club for accommodating the site and allowing us to retain this community facility while making way for the welcomed development of affordable homes in the area.

“We anticipate that this new location won’t be too much of an inconvenience for residents. It is worth remembering that some of the materials collected at the community recycling site can also be recycled at home, and we encourage residents to use the weekly household kerbside collection service as well as the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Newtown, which accepts a much wider range of materials for recycling.”