Newtown & Llanllwchaiarn Town Council is set to engage in a crucial debate surrounding the future of the Park Street Day Centre.

Councillor R White has proposed a motion to address the ongoing concerns regarding the utilisation of the facility. The motion will be debated by town councillors on 26th June 2023.

The motion seeks to emphasise the importance of the day centre as a vital service to the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn and calls for its return to pre-Covid pandemic service levels. The motion also raises concerns about the lack of communication from Powys County Council regarding the decision to extend the lease of the centre to the local health board as a vaccination centre.

The background of the motion stems from a letter sent by the town council to the Powys County Council in June 2022, expressing the significance of the Park Street Day Centre and urging its reopening to pre-pandemic service levels. In response, the county council informed the town council that the facility had been leased to the Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) until February 2023 for use as a vaccination centre. The county council pledged to collaborate with the affected individuals to explore alternative means of providing the services offered by the day centre.

In light of the response from the county council and PTHB, the proposed motion by Councillor R White urges the town council to take a firm stance. The motion highlights the lack of communication between the county council, local ward councillors, and the town council regarding the extension of the lease for the day centre as a vaccination centre. It reiterates the town council's belief in the relevance and importance of the Park Street Day Centre as a valuable service for the community and calls for the county council to identify an alternative site for either the vaccination centre or the day centre itself. This would allow the day centre services to be reinstated to their pre-pandemic levels.

The full motion is as follows:

“Council is given to understand that the Powys County Council has let the Park Street Day Centre to the local health board as a vaccination centre for a further 12 months from 23rd February 2023 without communication to the local county ward councillor or to the town council.

The town council instructs the Town Clerk to write to the county council in strong terms to indicate it remains of the view that the Park Street Day Centre provided by Powys County Council is a relevant and important service to the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn.

It requests the county council find an alternative site for either the vaccination centre or the day centre so that day centre services can return to pre-Covid pandemic service levels."