Councillors have said that they feel “extremely angry” about the lack of communication regarding controversial plans to widen the Llanidloes bypass.

Proposals put forward by the Welsh Government to introduce an overtaking lane after the Llanidloes roundabout towards Llandinam have faced backlash from residents.

Llanidloes mayor Janet Crisp said: “It’s our duty to fight this on behalf of our residents. We cannot rely on Powys County Council and Welsh Government representatives to put our feelings across.”

A consultation period for responses has been extended to Friday, April 30.

At a recent town council meeting discussing the road alteration proposal at Hafren Terrace, councillor Margot Jones raised concerns about the financial and environmental cost of the scheme, calling it “absolutely ridiculous”.

She said: “I think the whole thing is a load of rubbish and I think we should make it quite clear with the way it has been treated, the way the community has been treated.”

“It makes me extremely angry. We didn’t know about this until about six weeks ago and quite clearly our AM has known about this for sometime.”

The mayor added: “The fact Powys County Council have totally ignored us and not informed us about the plans is absolutely horrendous. We seem to be totally disregarded on all counts.”

“It really is getting beyond a joke.”

While Councillor Trudy Davies asked: “It’s not broken so why fix it? Why should we have something faster away from us, we want people to stop and enjoy Llanidloes.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The scheme is intended to improve safety and journeys in the area. Plans are in the early stages and the views of local residents are very important, which is why we’re consulting before designs proceed and the full business case is made.”

“This consultation has been extended until the end of April to account for current restrictions. We’ll listen to each comment and ensure any issues raised are carefully considered.”

Montgomeryshire Senedd member for Montgomeryshire Russell George said: “I am very disappointed that the Welsh Government did not provide me or the town council with any details on these plans before publishing the consultation, I had asked Welsh Government to provide details so that views could be sought in advance.

"I believe there is a need for safety improvements along this road to help improve safety and traffic and these include improvements to the junction at Moat Lane Caersws, improvements to the safety of the crossing in Llandinam and that dualling a section would be useful somewhere between Llangurig and Llanidloes as well as between Llanidloes and Caersws to allow for better passing and safety.

"I have informed the Minister that I’m supportive of, and agree that road improvement scheme’s are needed, I have also informed him that I do not support the proposed access changes via Hafren Terrace. I don’t feel that this is appropriate.

“The current proposed scheme does not have community support, and should not proceed, the Welsh Government need to go back to the drawing back and talk to local representatives first.”