Wool motion to boost Powys economy
Motions that could benefit the Powys economy will be brought forward at next weeks council meeting.
The first one is on wool, and to help sheep farmers Councillor Elwyn Vaughan wants to see it brought into consideration as a project for the £110 million Mid-Wales Growth Deal.
His proposal states: “The authority as part of the Mid Wales Growth deal looks at opportunities to add value to our agricultural products and specifically to work with the farming unions and the British Wool Marketing Board with a view of facilitating the establishment of the equivalent of WRONZ, Wool Research Organisation New Zealand in Mid Wales.
“Hence being a catalyst for innovative ideas, products and commercial spin-offs using wool.”
He said: “We have wool grading centres in Newtown and Brecon, and the sheep sector is of huge importance in Powys. Wool is also a natural, environmentally friendly and fire retardant product.”
In recent months the price of wool has dropped to low levels.
The second motion to be announced is being proposed by Conservative councillors James Evans and Karl Lewis.
They believe that gyms should be re-classified as an “essential service” by the Welsh Government to guard against their closure in any future Covid-19 lockdowns.
Viability
They will be asking the council to back their call on the motion which says: “As a key sector of the Welsh economy, gyms provide essential physical/mental health and well-being opportunities and solutions to a large percentage of the Powys population.
“Continually closing and re-opening gyms is now putting an increasing strain on their financial viability, jobs and more importantly the public who rely on gyms for a wide range of reasons, for both physical and mental health.
“We now call on the Welsh Government to re-classify gyms as an ‘essential service’, allowing our gyms to continue operating through future lockdowns, in the interest of the public’s physical and mental health.”
Both have been contacted by gym owners and residents across Powys who want to see sites kept open throughout the pandemic.
Councillor Evans said: “People use gyms to help with health conditions, to improve mental health and improve their overall fitness.
“Gyms are a vital component on reducing pressure on our NHS and we have seen that lockdowns have had a massive detriment on people’s mental health.”
The meeting is due to take place on November 26.
