The owner of a Welshpool pub approached the town council to share his vision of creating a new social hub for the town.

Alan Price, owner of The Owl & the Pussycat as well as Mollie’s Sweetshop, approached Welshpool Town Council at their latest meeting on September 25, to share an idea for taking over part of the town hall.

Mr Price said he was looking to take on the £18,000 lease for the car park on Hall Street and the workshop area of the town hall, with the goal of turning it into a new food and drink outlet targeting teenagers.

He said: “We’ve only had the Owl and Pussycat for 16 months and have been surprised at how popular that car park is and with the amount of people who walk past that driveway.

“It is probably one of the busiest streets in Welshpool. But that corner is a lot of wasted, prime selling space to make the town better.

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“It is a little bit of a free-for-all at the moment for how it is run and maintained. My thoughts are that this would be a vast improvement. It would look fantastic.”

Cllr Billy Spencer strongly supported the proposal, saying: “For me I think the Owl & Pussycatis the best pub in Welshpool under that kind of management this street has the potential to create a really good cafe culture in Welshpool.

“I propose to this council we work with our workmen to look for another workspace to use the potential of that building properly.

“I think it’s a really good proposal, could benefit the town enormously.”

Other councillors were broadly supportive of the plan but wanted more details before making any decision over whether to support the proposal, including working out details of where their staff would be based if the workshop was converted.

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Cllr Alison Davies said: “We need to decide whether we support the idea in principle, then ask Alan for more detail. But to ask him for more detail before he knows whether it’s supported in principle is going to be difficult.”

Cllr David France agreed, adding: “I appreciate the proposal, but as a council we need to do our due diligence and think through every possibility.

"I would propose discussing this under a committee and thinking properly about it.”

The council agreed to discuss the proposal in a committee to decide whether it would be supported in principle, before working out finer details with Mr Price through a working group.