PLANS to slash the opening hours of Llanbrynmair’s Post Office service to just two a week have been slammed by a local councillor.

But there is better news for post office customers in Machynlleth, as the post office there is set to be upgraded.

An eight-week consultation has begun into the planned cuts in Llanbrynmair, which will see the mobile outreach service cut from over seven hours a week, down to just two.

Held at the car park opposite the Wynnstay Arms Hotel, the service is currently available Mondays 9am to 11.30am; Tuesdays 11.45am to 2.15pm and Thursdays 11.15am to 1.30pm. The new proposed hours are 11.30am to 12.30pm, Tuesdays and Fridays.

Councillor Dai Jones, who represents Llanbrynmair on Powys County Council, said that there were concerns over the plans.

“I don’t think two hours a week is enough,” he said. “It is a well-used service and residents have told me they want to see it be available for at least two hours each day it comes, not just one.

“I understand the need to save money, but we would ask that it is there for longer on each day if the changes go through.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “The proposed change will allow the Post Office to expand services to a larger network of villages, enabling the provision of Post Office services to a greater number of communities in the future. Post Office Limited’s priority is to safeguard services not only to the local area but also the wider local community.”

The Post Office is inviting comments on the change in an eight-week public consultation, which closes on 10 March.

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