Machynlleth’s Post Office services are going to be reduced following changes to the Spar shop.

It has been announced that the Post Office desks housed in the Spar convenience store will be closed at the back of the shop and moved to the front of the store this January.

The shop on Heol Maengwyn will see a reduction of Post Office services as a result, but banking, bill payments and mail provision will remain.

Services currently offered include ID services, vehicle tax, travel services, cash and cheque deposits, Western Union and savings services, and mail services with Parcelforce and DPD.

Powys County Councillor for Machynlleth, Alwyn Evans, confirmed the news after speaking with the store manager, adding that “it is no fault of the store manager” and that the decision lay instead with the store owners, AF Blakemore Ltd.

Despite the Post Office closures being commonplace in headlines, with the Glantwymyn branch closing only earlier this year, the Post Office said the changes to Machynlleth’s service had nothing to do with them.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “There definitely is no plan for the store or Post Office to close.

“I understand that there may be a refurbishment next year.”

The closest full-time Post Office with matching services is Aberdyfi nine miles west, with reduced services and open times offered in Corris and a Glantwymyn mobile service.

Powys County Councillor for Glantwymyn, Elwyn Vaughan, said residents were “concerned”: “Can one desk cope with the busy use of the services?”

One resident described the move as “one step closer to Machynlleth losing its Post Office” for good, whilst another described it as “well used” with “frequent queues”.

Questions have also been raised that people's livelihoods may be at risk if multiple desks close.

AF Blakemore Ltd have been contacted for comment.