Machynlleth people had called for a new community centre

But the project will not involve a proposed new Foyer scheme for young people.

Mid Wales Housing Association (MWHA) representatives met town councillors on Monday to discuss knocking down the existing community centre and replacing it with a new one at the same site.

The community centre is owned and maintained by the town council but in recent years, councillors have been increasingly concerned about the costs involved.

The town council has set aside �8,000 for each of the last two years towards maintaining the centre.

It is used by local line dancers and karate enthusiasts and it is also hired out to people arranging gigs and auctions.

Mid Wales Housing Association approached the town council after the people of Machynlleth identified the need for a new community centre at a public meeting in the town last year.

Confidential matter

Jude Boutle of MWHA, which provides social housing, said the possibility of building a community centre was within the organisation's remit.

"We recognise that providing social housing alone is not enough to respond to sustainable communities," said Ms Boutle.

MWHA is also planning to set up a �200,000 project for a Foyer scheme to house and train people aged between 16 and 24 in the town.

The building used to be a cinema and drill hall

"The community centre project will not include the planned Foyer scheme," she said.

"I cannot comment further because the owners of that site have asked us to keep the matter confidential."

Machynlleth Mayor Glenda Jenkins said further meetings about the scheme were being planned.

"After a very interesting discussion on a project to build the new community centre on the site of the existing community centre we have agreed to continue discussions to further the project," she said.

"However, there is a lot of preliminary work to be looked into and further meetings are planned shortly."