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Search the Public Notice PortalLlanidloes business owners say they are still counting the cost of the prolonged traffic light works that began in December 2023 - warning that another lengthy disruption could force them to close for good.
The temporary lights, installed as part of repair work on the town’s Old Market Hall, remained in place until July 2024.
Although they have been gone for more than a year, traders say the impact on footfall and customer habits has lingered far longer.
Florist Hollie Hulme, who runs Hollie’s Floral Design, said the disruption left her business fighting for survival.
“It’s had a huge impact,” she said. “The County Times did a story at the time, but nothing came out of it and you felt like you were talking to a brick wall. It started in December 2023 and the lights went in 2024, but I’m still feeling the effects now.”
With no space at home to run her business, Hollie said she had no option but to take on debt just to keep going.
“I’ve lost around £11,000 since December 2023. People just weren’t coming into town - it wasn’t even the lights themselves; it was the fact nobody was coming to do anything.
“Even after the lights went in July 2024, it took a long time for people to come back. It’s only the beginning of this year that things have started to feel more normal.”
Despite the strain, she says she doesn’t want to leave.
“I’m happy in Llani. I drive 50 miles a day to be here because I love it - I went to high school here, I’ve got friends here. But if the lights stay a long time again, I will be gone. I can’t ride another storm like that. It’s quite serious.”
William Price, whose family business has been trading since 1948, was even more forthright, calling the situation “a case study in public sector mismanagement”.
“[The Old Market Hall] has had more makeovers than Joan Collins and we’re still in the same position,” he said.
“They had traffic lights, now they’re proposing traffic lights again. It severely impacted the volume of custom in the community and the income in my premises and other shops in Llanidloes. If it continues like this, I will close my business.”
He criticised what he described as poor oversight, questionable spending and a lack of accountability, saying local builders "who would be proud of their work" should have been given the work, but that workers were instead coming from Aberaeron and spending part of the day travelling.
He added: “Was it ever in the spec to have a two-tone finish, grey down one side and another colour on the other?"
Mr Price said prolonged closures and long traffic queues kept customers away.
“When the street is shut down, nobody pulls in because they’re not allowed to. You wait 10 minutes at the traffic lights - you’re not going to stop to buy batteries, are you? The whole thing is unnecessary, and it does distress me.”
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Both business owners said they feared the town could not withstand a repeat of last year’s disruption.
A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “Work to repair the Old Market Hall has been delayed due to the existing traffic management currently in place on Smithfield Road.
“Traffic management measures will be required to protect operatives while they carry out the repair works to the building.
“Unless additional works are identified, the works are expected to be completed within a week.”
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