A row over Brexit has erupted in county hall over how Powys County Council will respond to the loss of EU funding streams worth about £2m.

Last week the Liberal Democrat/Green group questioned what council leader, Cllr Rosemarie Harris, had been doing to try and plug the finding gaps that the loss of EU money will create.

Now Cllr Harris has snapped back and called comments made by the Liberal Democrat/Green group as “unhelpful and unnecessary.”

The Powys council Liberal Democrat/Green group leader Cllr James Gibson-Watt had called the concerns expressed by rural council leaders including Cllr Harris recently as “far too little, far too late,” as the UK hurtles towards the Brexit deadline of 31 October.

Cllr Harris is the joint chair of the Welsh Local Government Association along with Gwynedd Council leader Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn.

Cllr Harris said: “Not only are the comments by Cllr Gibson-Watt extremely unhelpful, they do not reflect what has actually happened over the last two years.

“We initiated and have led discussions on behalf of all the rural authorities in Wales.”

Cllr Harris explained that the loss of EU funding has been a constant issue and had been meeting with the Welsh Government, rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths AM to express their concerns,

Cllr Harris added: “It is disappointing to note the unnecessary personal criticism levelled at myself. All the Welsh rural council leaders have taken these discussions seriously and have worked hard to raise awareness of the potential loss of this funding would be to our rural communities.”

Earlier Cllr Gibson-Watt had said: “What on earth have they been doing for the past two years?"

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