Brecon Chamber of Trade has suggested a new system regarding road closures and subsequent barriers which would allow for “the best of both worlds” for businesses and those driving through and parking within the town.

Powys County Council announced last Thursday that temporary town centre arrangements in Brecon and Crickhowell, as well as Newtown, would say in place “for now”.

The temporary arrangements which were introduced last year to encourage the public back into the town while maintaining social distancing included planters or barriers in what were previously parking spaces or loading bays will be remaining in the town along with smaller measures in other towns includinge pavement licenses granted for invidivual businesses to use public areas such as walkways and roads.

A Powys council spokesman said that the measures were designed to facilitate social distancing and provide additional outdoor space for “both pedestrians and businesses to utilise”.

“I would like to thank all those who took part in our engagement exercise and for the valuable comments received on the future of our town centres. Given such positive and supportive feedback from businesses, residents and visitors, and in anticipation of an influx of visitors to our county with the rising popularity of ‘staycations’, the temporary measures in Brecon, Newtown and Crickhowell will stay in place.” explained Cllr Heulwen Hulme, Cabinet Member for Highways.

“As we move into a phase of less legal restrictions we are all very much looking forward to seeing our iconic Powys towns enjoy a busy summer. But it is important to remember to remain cautious, with government advice recommending we take responsibility for our own actions with regards to social distancing, both inside and out.”

“We will now go through all the feedback in detail and start discussions about what may be possible for each town longer-term. All proposals will go through the appropriate levels of consultation with all stakeholders.”

The measures have divided opinons for many people as while they do allow for social distancing they also make it difficult to park or drive through the town - some residents have even reported illegal parking in areas like Lion Street.

The chamber of trade’s secretary Dawn McIntosh said: “Some of our members, Andrew Powell (chair), Steve Morgans and Nigel Kilgallon met recently in Brecon with Cllr Iain McIntosh and Matt Perry from Powys County Council.

“We put forward a proposal to Matt Perry involving a flexible hybrid solution that we wanted Brecon businesses to be consulted about.

“Our idea is to have the ability to close the Struet, Market Street, Lion Street and George Street at certain times, such as from 6pm on a Friday until 7am on a Monday, during British summer time, to facilitate an improved street scene and cafe culture. Our roads would remain open from Monday mornings until Friday evenings. We would like to retain the ability to have these road closures during the winter, but would likely keep the roads open, as few businesses would want to put tables and chairs outside in inclement weather.”

The chamber of trade, which has put forward the hyprid plan as a good midground, has also suggested introducing further road closures during major events or festivals which would further open up the town for visitors and residents on foot.

Mrs McIntosh said: “We’d also like to have the ability to introduce further road closures in Brecon for other events, such as Brecon Jazz, Brecon With Bells On and Brecon Food Festival etc. Some Brecon businesses are in favour of road closures, but many, as seen in the petition we sent to Powys County Council last December, signed by 40 business owners, are against the closures.

“Brecon Chamber of Trade and Tourism are prepared to consult all Brecon Town Centre businesses about this idea and believe it would enable Brecon to get the best of both worlds. We urge Powys County Council to consider this going forward.”

Differently to Brecon and Crickhowell, Powys lifted the temporary measures in Hay-on-Wye on Friday, August 7, following the initial feedback from the engagement exercise carried out around the measures and Wales moving to Alert Level 0.

However, a Powys spokesman said they could come back if cases start going up again: “If there is a spike in Covid-19 cases in the town, the measures may be reintroduced to limit the spread of the virus by enabling safe social distancing in such a busy tourist hot-spot.”