Llanfyllin has secured funding to install multiple electric vehicle charging points within the next six months.

Llanfyllin mayor Peter Lewis confirmed that the Powys town had been successful in its application to secure Welsh Government funding to construct two electric vehicle charging points in the town’s main car park.

The project will be 85 percent funded by the Welsh Government, with the remaining 15 percent of finances being provide by Powys County Council.

Cllr Lewis said: “This will make a big difference to the town and be a real game changer for anyone with an electric vehicle passing through the area. The town council has been lobbying for this for a while.

“Securing two charging points will hopefully be the first step to attracting more people to Llanfyllin which now has facilities to support electric vehicle owners which we hope will go towards increasing footfall as stopping in Llanfyllin for a charge becomes a viable option for anyone passing through.

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“I think the Welsh Government and Powys Council have realised that you can’t have an increase in electric vehicles on the road without the proper infrastructure to support them, especially in rural areas, which is why bringing these facilities to a town like Llanfair is so important.

“They are in such short supply across rural areas that people who own electric cars often have to map their whole journeys based on where a charging point is available.

“I know many Llanfyllin businesses, such as hotels, who have received phone calls to ask where the nearest charging point for electric vehicles is, so on their behalf I’m pleased to say Llanfyllin will soon have a pair of them in the heart of the town.”

Llanfyllin Town Council put forward proposals to have a number of charging points installed “as a matter of urgency” in October 2021.

While Powys Council did install a number of charging points across the county in 2019, the nearest publicly available one to Llanfyllin at the time was in Welshpool, leading Llanfyllin Council to put forward the proposal in order to create a more closely connected network of public locations in north Powys.

The newly secured funding must be spent before the end of the next financial year, meaning that Llanfyllin Town Council is hoping the project will be completed by March 2024.