A SITE used for recycling near Welshpool could have been sold by Powys County Council (PCC).

And if the former Cae Post facility has been sold – this will be a blow to campaigners against a Bulking Facility planned for Abermule.

Abermule Communities Together (ACT) had included Cae Post as a site for PCC to consider as an alternative to Abermule, but PCC has always maintained that the “location and size” didn’t meet their criteria.

Under delegated powers Cllr Phyl Davies (Conservative, Blaen Hafren), cabinet member for Highways, Recycling and Assets, has decided to sell a “light industrial office, building and yard” at Trewern near Welshpool.

The decision will become “effective” on Wednesday, February 13.

The statement on the decision says that the deal has been done: “To enable a sale to be completed in a timely manner, on receipt of an acceptable offer, and in advance of the end of the current financial year.”

PCC also justifies the lack of details on the sale on legal restriction and that it is “not in the public interest” to disclose the information.

A spokesman for ACT said that they had: “Big questions on this.”

The former Cae Post recycling facility at Criggion Lane, Trewern, has been for sale for £325,000.

The facility closed in March, 2017, with the loss of 17 jobs after the Cae Post charity lost their recycling contract with PCC.

The charity that provided work and training for people with disabilities or who were disadvantaged in the job market collected recycling from 5,000 homes in north Powys.

At the 1,678 square metre facility the workers separated the recycling for onward transmission to re-processors.

Since the planning committee approved the Bulking Waste Facility application by just one vote in August 2018, the council has received heavy criticism from protesters in the village.

Villagers believe the Transfer Facility they plan to build is far too big for Abermule and  should go on an industrial estate.

Council officers have stressed that the facility  would help the authority deal with hitting Welsh Government recycling targets of 70 per cent by 2024/25.

They believe the recycling bulking facility is “essential to maximise the efficiency” of the collection vehicles and is: “ideally located between the two main population centres of north Powys”.