Council Reports Emphasize “Sustainable Powys” Model, Senior Councillor Explains

ALL council reports on potential policy decisions contain a section which explains how they come under the “Sustainable Powys” model of transformation, a senior councillor has explained.
At a meeting of Powys council’s Governance and Audit committee on Friday, June 26, councillors and independent lay member probed the council’s self-assessment report for 2025/2026.
The document is supposed to explain where the council works well and where its performance needs to improve.
Independent lay member Gareth Hall said: “There is a statement in the document that said that Sustainable Powys has been embedded in the organisation.
“It would be good given the high profile over the last 18 months or so that Sustainable Powys has been given, if there could be a couple of examples highlighted of where the principles have been applied resulting in improved or more economical service delivery.
“And how it has impacted on decision making and what sort of decisions have arisen.”
Council leader Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said that “there is only so much” and believed a good example of the application of Sustainable Powys could be seen in the decision taken earlier this month on a new policy to run the council’s farm estate
Finance portfolio holder Cllr David Thomas (Labour – Tawe Uchaf) said: “Every report now that signifies a policy change or new initiative that comes to cabinet does contain a section on the principles that emanate from Sustainable Powys.
“It’s important to realise that Sustainable Powys itself is not a programme, it’s a concept that gave birth to the principles that determine the direction of our transformation policy.
“All reports now demonstrate how that particular initiative ties into them.”
The committee endorsed the self-assessment which is set to go before a meeting of the Cabinet on July 14 for a decision.
Sustainable Powys is the banner used for cuts and changes to council services due to the funding crisis facing local authorities in Wales and the rest of the UK.
It sees the county divided into five ‘core areas’ which will see council services centred on Brecon, Llandrindod Wells, Newtown, Welshpool and Ystradgynlais.
Residents living an hour away, including children, will be expected to travel to these towns to access council services. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​