The MS for Brecon and Radnorshire said he is “devastated” to learn that Powys County Council is continuing with its plans to close Llanfihangel Rhydithon primary school in Dolau.

MS James Evans posted a filmed comment about the plans on Facebook from the Senedd immediately after the announcement on Tuesday.

The Conservative said: “I was absolutely devastated to learn a short time ago that Powys County Council have voted to continue with the closure of Dolau school.

“This is the wrong decision for our communities. Powys have got this one wrong. I have written urgently to the minister for education, to Jeremy Miles, to set out the calling procedures to Welsh Government.

“I’m going to be on the phone this afternoon when I leave the chamber to education officials in Powys County Council to see what we can do to try to get this decision overturned.

“This is the wrong decision and I just want to show everybody in Dolau that I will be fighting tooth and nail to make sure we can keep that school in our community.”

Powys councillor William Powell, Liberal Democrat from Talgarth, also spoke out about the decision.

He posted to Twitter as Powys council was making its decision: “It would be nothing short of vandalism for Powys to ram through the proposed closure of Dolau School in the face of realistic options for its survival and renaissance.

“If today’s vote is in favour of closure, it will not be the end of the matter.”

Away from social media, Cllr Powell also said that he felt the MS could be doing more to help save the school.

He said: “The Powys County Council Welsh Education Strategic Plan would potentially enable Dolau to play a key role in the delivery of Welsh Government’s ambitious plans for the development of Welsh Language education in Mid Powys.

“This was a key avenue of questioning at the Education Scrutiny Committee - and Dolau School’s premature closure would undermine that opportunity.

“Whilst Cllr James Evans MS (Conservative, Gwernyfed) is right to lament this, it is not enough to comment, as if he were an impotent observer.

“Cllr Evans is a key member of the Conservative Group that is, in the Powys Cabinet, promoting this act of cultural vandalism in Rural Radnorshire. If he feels that his Conservative Group on the Council is going rogue, it is for him to act and call them out. The Dolau School Community will expect nothing less.”

It is expected that the school would close on August 31, and it would save the council £59,000 a year - education portfolio holder Cllr Phyl Davies said at the meeting that “these decisions are very difficult and emotive”.