A Welshpool councillor says he hopes a new retailer can be found for Sainsburys' Brook Street site after the retailer closes its doors in the town next month.

The store, previously a Kwik Save, was opened by Eastenders' star Shaun Williamson in the early 2000's, but after a 20 year run in the town is set to shut up shop on July 10.

Powys County Councillor and Welshpool Town Councillor Phil Pritchard said he hoped another retailer could be found for the site, and said that Powys County Council would be doing everything they could to assist any potential retailers to move in to the area.

"For a lot of people at that end of the town, Sainsburys has been a hell of a good employer and a hell of good thing in terms of looking after that area," he said.

"It'll be an absolute disaster if they go in that sense, and I can only hope that a similar outlet will come and take over that premises.

"I would hope that a similar outlet would be tempted by it, it's an excellent site so there's no reason why it can't be grabbed by somebody else - as a county council we'll be doing everything that we can to facilitate that.

"I really feel for the staff there who've always got a smile on their face and have always been willing to help and we're going to lose that."

Speaking earlier this year, the retailer said it was unable to confirm how many jobs would be lost as part of the closure, claiming it was working to redeploy staff to other stores.

The nearest available branches are in Shrewsbury and Oswestry. When asked this week to confirm how many staff had been successfully redeployed to other stores, Sainsburys declined to comment.

Diane Ashman, who runs Ashman's Antiques on the High Street said the loss of the only large supermarket still operating in the middle of the town would be a "devastating" loss to residents nearby, many of whom would find the extra walk to the next nearest supermarket at Tesco or Morrisons difficult.

"It's very devastating to an awful lot of people who I've spoken to, " she said.

"I've been going there ever since it was KwikSave, I've never shopped anywhere else. It's not just me, it's people in wheelchairs, people who go there do their gas and electric, the people who live in the cottages around here.

"It's the only shop of it's type available in the area and we all love it.

"Are the older folk from this end of town going to walk all that way over to Tesco? So many people are cut up about it.

"I've even rung Sainsburys head office but I don't know if anything can be done. It's devastating for so many people."