Wales Air Ambulance representative invited to Builth Wells Town Council meeting to explain how the service will work for the area in the future

Councillor Gwyn Davies said a representative from the charity was in his pub recently and they were saying that it is getting more difficult to get donations since its plans to close the Welshpool helicopter base were revealed.

Councillor Davies said many people say that the Wales Air Ambulance will not be covering Powys anymore and the charity has had a backlash from people who no longer want to support them.

But he said the representative said the air ambulance will attend incidents in Powys, as they always have done, but they believe they will be able to attend more incidents across Wales by moving their base and they will be introducing a new shift from 8pm at night.

Builth Wells Mayor Councillor Mark Hammond, who attended many of the meetings about the proposals to close the Welshpool base, said 40 communities will receive a much slower service as a result of the move.

He said they are looking at moving their rapid response vehicles, so there would be one in Newtown and one in another Mid Wales location but they will not be run by Wale Air Ambulance but be the ambulance service.

Thousands of residents in Mid Wales signed petitions, attended public meetings and took to social media to show their objection to the plans to close the Welshpool base

The plans were voted through in a majority decision by the JCC which is made up of representatives of Welsh Health Boards, with Powys Teaching Health Board voting against the proposals.

This was appealed in the High Court in January and February however Mr Justice Turner ruled against campaigners who brought the case to the court in June.

Campaigners fought on and decided to take the case to the Court of Appeal which refused a hearing recently, meaning there appears to be no further legal avenue to challenge the decision.

Councillor Davies said the representative had offered to come and talk to the town council.

Members agreed to invite the representative to a meeting and the clerk will get in touch with them to arrange a date.