THE Centre for Alternative Technology has revealed redevelopment and expansion plans.

They include a major redevelopment of the visitor centre, further expansion of the Graduate School with new courses planned, and an increase in the amount of work to engage more people with CAT, bringing an increased number of visitors to the centre and to the local area.

Lesley Griffiths AM, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Aff­airs, visited the centre near Machynlleth to hear about its recent successes and future plans.

She met with CAT chair of trustees Mick Taylor, chief executive Adrian Ramsay and head of eco-centre John Challen.

Ms Griffiths said: “I would like to thank CAT for inviting me back to the centre. I was very impressed with the facility and the changes which have happened since my previous visit.

The organisation is extremely important to the region, both as an employer and as a destination for tourists and skill-seekers, and their educational work promoting practical solutions to environmental challenges is perhaps more important now than ever before.”

In addition to attracting visitors and groups to the local area, CAT is one of the largest employers in the Dyfi Valley and contributes around £1.5m to the local economy each year through wages and use of local suppliers.

See this week’s Machynlleth & Llanidloes paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now