“What is developing is an outdoor retail park in the Elan Valley,” the former mayor of Rhayader said about multi-million pound plans for a redevelopment

“What is developing is an outdoor retail park in the Elan Valley,” the former mayor of Rhayader said about multi-million pound plans for a redevelopment.

Councillor Clare Evans said there is a lot of duplication in the plans with what already exists in Rhayader town itself.

And her concerns were not the only ones as other councillors voiced issues with the impact of increased visitor numbers on Elan Village, car parking and traffic, and wildlife.

Councillors also felt that initial discussions about linking Rhayader and the Elan Valley more closely by improving the infrastructure between the two sites by investing in a park and ride bus service etc, have now been pushed further along in the project.

Rhayader Town Council considered the plans to redevelop the Elan Valley Visitor Centre - the lead project of the Mid Wales Growth Deal at their July meeting.

With an expanded café incorporating a training kitchen and an external grab and go area and external servery, a planetarium experience to enhance the Dark Skies Park status and a larger retail and foyer area – the aim is to turn the centre into a flagship visitor destination.

The plans include the up-grading of the existing facilities and infrastructure, providing new amenities, services and experiences for public enjoyment.

Although they were generally supportive of the development of the area and investment into it, they did raise serious concerns.

Councillor Rhys Thomas said: “I am against building this before they get the infrastructure right. They need to put the infrastructure in place, get the bus connections right and then do this work.

“When we had our first meeting it was all about Rhayader and the Elan Valley. The bus improvements have now moved to later in the project, when it was meant to be one of the first things.

“This is just going to be a thoroughfare to up to the Elan Valley with no connection with Rhayader. If they invested in four buses a day people would come into town in the morning and go to the lakes in the afternoon or walk or cycle up there and catch the bus back. They do not care about Rhayader.”

Councillor Clare Evans agreed. “There is a lot of duplication in these plans with what we already have in town. They need to do the infrastructure to improve the links between Rhayader and the Elan Valley. What is developing is an outdoor retail park in the Elan Valley.”

But Town and County Councillor Angela Davies said she thought things like the training kitchen may be good to encourage youngsters to stay in the local area to gain further education and training, which could also benefit other businesses in town. She said as well as catering apprenticeships perhaps they could offer hospitality and ranger apprenticeships.

“I am concerned about the effect on the environment and the wildlife, if they start digging there they will be going back on what they have been trying to protect,” said Councillor James Stuart.

“Elan Village is a quaint place but it often looks a mess with ruts where people have parked on the grass. The people living there have to put up with a lot with the parking charges etc and I am here to represent them and Cwmdauddwr not visitors.”

Members said while they are not against the plan entirely they have serious issues and things such as traffic management has not been addressed.

They agreed to recommend approval of the plan but to raise their concerns about car parking, the connection with Rhayader and environmental impacts.