Concerns have been raised over the future of pharmacies in Brecon and Radnorshire if branches of Boots are closed in the area.It comes after an announcement by the owner of the high street chain that there may be store closures after a poor sales performance in the last quarter.

Stores owned by the chain in Brecon and Radnorshire are in Brecon, Builth Wells, Crickhowell, Knighton, and Llandrindod Wells.

The AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, Kirsty Williams, has expressed concerns about access to pharmacies for people in the area, saying: “The potential closure of Boots stores in Powys will be worrying for communities who rely on them for pharmacy services, particularly in towns where there would be nowhere else to go. Pharmacy plays an important role in keeping people healthy and taking pressure off other services in the NHS.

“I have written to the local health board to establish what plans are in place in the event these closures go ahead, stressing the importance of convenient access to pharmacy. We have limited public transport in Brecon and Radnorshire and I don’t want to see more people facing long journeys in order to access valuable healthcare services.”

The potential of closures are a particular concern to the residents of Brecon and Radnorshire, with the rural nature of the area meaning that people often have to travel far distances to access these services.

This comes as Boots has announced that it will be looking into the possibility of shutting stores across the UK to cut costs after a disappointing quarter, which saw a decrease in sales of 2.3% in the UK. The firm Walgreens Boots Alliance, which runs Boots, has announced that it will be increasing its savings target from $1billion to $1.5billion.

This has resulted in concerns that stores in Powys could be amongst those facing closure.

Despite this, UK Boots has said that there were not any plans for major reductions, and that it maintained its market share in the UK in the most recent quarter.