Powys politicians are urging residents to have their say at the upcoming meetings about future of the Welshpool Air Ambulance base.

Montgomeryshire representatives, Russell George MS and Craig Williams MP, are stressing the importance for local people to attend upcoming public meetings to secure the future of the base in Welshpool.

The meetings will be help to gain public feedback on plans to close the Welshpool and Caernarfon bases and relocate them to a new north Wales site, which was revealed by the County Times last year.

However, this will not happen now until at least 2026.

READ MORE: Welshpool Air Ambulance base could be set to close

The first meetings in the public consultation will be held in Newtown on April 4 with two meetings at the Monty Club on Broad Street at 5.30-6.30pm and 7-8pm. These will follow drop-in session during the day held at Bear’s lanes shopping centre in the morning from 9.30am-1pm and at Tesco’s on Pool Road from 11am-3pm.

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Russell George MS welcomed recent news that the base would be staying until at least 2026 but said it was “merely a stay of execution” and that the public needed to keep up the fight to keep the service.

READ MORE: Welshpool Air Ambulance base to stay until at least 2026

“In Mid Wales, we have an older population, poorer road connectivity, and long distances to major hospitals, and it is critical that we have an air ambulance serving us here, this is something the people of Mid Wales feel so strongly about,” said Mr George.

“But we all need to go further and make our case to the Welsh NHS service that will make the final decision, which means as many of us as possible turning up at these meetings and demonstrating to the powers-that-be how important keeping a reliable service is to the people of Mid Wales.

"I have seen no information that supports the original proposal that the Welshpool base should close.”

The NHS Wales Emergency Ambulance Services Committee (EASC), which plans NHS ambulance services on behalf of the whole of Wales, will be running the consultation and will be putting on further sessions in Welshpool on Wednesday, April 26 at the town hall between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, and 7pm and 8pm.

Other meetings are also taking place in the form of public ‘drop in’ events, and virtual public meetings.

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After the revealing of the proposals, Mr George and Mr Williams have worked closely with campaign groups and others to campaign for the retention of the Mid Wales base.

Both have called for a proper engagement process and scrutiny but have expressed frustration that the first dates and locations were published at short notice.

“I am truly grateful for all the work undertaken so far by campaigners, but Russell and I are joining other campaigners, in urging the public to attend the local meetings” said Mr Williams.

“We need to make sure that decision-makers are in no doubt about how we feel and how important the air ambulance service is to us in Mid Wales.

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“What is very frustrating is that despite the enormous outcry that came from the local community after initial plans for the base’s closure were exposed, the public meetings to hear what people think have been arranged at such short notice without the degree of transparency we should expect.

“It is essential now that these meetings are well attended by everyone who has an interest in keeping the base open because we cannot rest on our laurels just because the lease is secured until 2026 – the future beyond that is still uncertain if we do not make the most of this engagement process.”