The meeting will discuss where to set up a training facility

Machynlleth town councillors will meet representatives from the Mid-Wales Housing Association to plan where to set up four self-contained flats and a training area for people aged 16 to 24.

It is believed that one possible site under consideration is the town's community centre.

Last year another property was identified but residents living nearby were angry because of an alleged lack of consultation over that scheme, which was then shelved after a public meeting.

There is also a site which the town council has an interest in which may be useful to us for the Foyer Jude Boutle, Mid Wales Housing Association

At the time residents claimed the introduction of young people into an area where many pensioners lived would cause noise problems.

Powys County Council has put in a �200,000 grant bid to the Welsh Assembly for the Machynlleth project as well as a �400,000 bid for a similar one in Brecon.

Jude Boutle of Mid Wales Housing Association said the meeting would include councillors being told what the scheme - called a foyer scheme - involved.

Anxiety

"There is also a site which the town council has an interest in which may be useful to us for the foyer," she said.

The main role of a foyer is to provide training and support for young people who are not ready to enter formalised training.

The foyer planned in Machynlleth will have four self-contained flats as well as training room and an office for staff.

Town mayor Glenda Jenkins confirmed the meeting would discuss the proposed site.

The first foyer scheme in Powys was set up in Newtown three years ago at a cost of around �160,000.

The meeting will discuss where to set up a training facility

The county council's head of housing, Catriona Graham, said the problem in setting up a similar project in Machynlleth had been finding a site which was well-located without causing anxiety to local people.

"Last year's proposed scheme had a lot of stick because people felt they hadn't been informed about the planning application," she added.

"We want to work closely with the communities involved to find suitable sites."

Ms Graham said two adjoining properties owned by the county council had already been identified to house the scheme in Brecon.

"These were houses that would have been knocked down for the Brecon relief road project but were then found to be surplus to requirements," she said.

Foyer schemes are seen as a stepping stone for young people after they leave home and before they can live independently.

The training facilities are also open to people in the wider community.