POLICE have confirmed that a suspected cannabis farm was discovered at the disused former HSBC building in Welshpool this week.

Dyfed Powys Police announced on Tuesday that a “large quantity” of cannabis plants were seized after officers executed a search warrant at an address in the town centre on Monday, January 8.

Heavy police activity was reported in town late on Monday afternoon, at around 5pm, with police tape now covering the door to the former bank building on the corner of where Broad Street and Berriew Street meet.

Police now say the plants were seized from the old bank building, which closed as a branch of HSBC in September 2021.

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“Dyfed Powys Police proactive drugs team executed a warrant at a property in Welshpool on Monday, January 8,” the force said in a statement.

“A large quantity of cannabis plants have been seized. The building was in a dangerous condition and Scottish Power have been called to assist.”

The bank has been closed for more than two years, shutting its doors in September 2021 after HSBC announced that January it was part of a move to close 82 branches across the UK.

Plans to convert the building into apartments were submitted to Powys County Council in April 2022. HS Property Group submitted the application in March.

The three-storey structure had been used as a bank since it was built in 1876, but has lain dormant since HSBC left town.

Barclays and Lloyds followed suit over the next couple of years and, when Lloyds shut in January last year, Welshpool was left with no banks whatsoever.

That changed last month when a brand new banking hub opened up, offering Welshpool residents in-person banking services for the first time in almost a year.