THE temporary closure of a town road ‘could be the death’ for one community charity shop in Llandrindod Wells.

Cefnllys School Community Charity Shop manager Steph Burton has said that the temporary closure of Middleton Street could potentially finish the business.

It was announced that Powys County Council was to introduce pavement widening in some towns across Powys to allow people to social distance when visiting and queueing for shops.

The current plans on Middleton Street would see all parking removed, except disabled spaces, in order to widen footways and starts on Friday, June 25.

The shop has been closed since March, when volunteers who ran the shop began to isolate due to coronavirus.

“Around three weeks ago I went to the shop and began thoroughly cleaning everything, including any donations that had been left, and we put up Perspex screens and tape directions for our customers, ready to open,” said Steph.

“To then be hit with the news that they’d be closing the street was a real kick in the stomach – not just for us, but for all shops.”

The shop works with more than 40 community groups who work on a rotation basis to sell in the shop

“It’s a great shop and per week our groups usually make between £1,200-300,” added Steph.

“Over the years we’ve raised more than £60,000 for our community. We’re booked up until 2024 and have queues on Monday morning when new stock is available.

“The street closure concerns me because we have four months of rent to make up for. If people can’t park outside, it will deter our customers..”

“I’ve been told that it is only a temporary closure, but we need the footfall. We had real high hopes for our opening week, but they’ve been dashed.”

Councillor Heulwen Hulme, the cabinet member responsible for this work, commented: “Some of our town centres have narrow pavements which don’t lend to social distancing without walking on the road. As traffic increases we need to introduce spaces for people to walk.”