CONCERNS has been expressed by a council cabinet member over proposals to close Urdd Gobaith Cymru’s office in the county.

Cllr Myfanw Alexander (Indpendent – Banwy) is the portfolio holder for the Welsh language.

She wrote the letter to the youth organisation after being urged by Plaid Cymru group leader, Cllr Elwyn Vaughan, to get the Urdd to talk to PCC about the problems.

Four Urdd jobs are understood to be under threat, with three based at the office in Newtown.

Cllr Alexander, said: "I agree with the member that this is a major concern, and call on the Urdd to review their proposal to ensure a fair and equitable provision is available in mid Wales.

“I urge them to talk to us to look at how to maintain this important provision here in Powys.

“We must also remember that the Urdd’s activities go far beyond just the Eisteddfod, with sports competitions, Urdd clubs and groups in schools and within the community, visits to the Urdd camps and international trips to places such as Disneyland Paris.”

Councillor Alexander added: “It is a great concern to us that the Urdd intend to close their Newtown office at such a critical time, which will mean that there is no longer an office in mid Wales – nothing between Denbigh and Gwent, nor between Glan-llyn and Llangrannog.

“This is a vast area of Wales, which needs the support of organisations such as the Urdd to ensure that Welsh-medium activities take place.”

Cllr Alexander pointed out that the Urdd National Eisteddfod held at the Royal Welsh Showground in 2018 had led to a 50 per-cent increase in Urdd members.

And numbers of youngsters taking part in sports competitions tripled from 368 in 2015.16 to 1121 in 2018/19.

Work would be needed to prepare for the cultural extravaganza which was due to be held in Machynlleth in 2022 but has been put back to 2023 due to the coronavirus.

A spokesperson for the Urdd, said that they were in a period of consultation with staff: “An independent company was commissioned to conduct a review of the Urdd’s Youth and Communities department in 2019.

“The purpose of the review was to ensure that we continue to offer the best possible experiences and opportunities for children and young people in Wales.

“This is an internal process and therefore it is not appropriate for us to make any further comment until the process is complete.”