Nearly 6,000 houses are planned for building in Powys by 2016

A shortage of skilled workers in mid Wales has led to a call for more houses to be built in the county over the next 13 years.

Mid Wales Manufacturing Group (MWMG) claims businesses are having to bus in workers from England and the M4 corridor in south Wales because of the shortfall.

The group has now called on Powys County Council to build more houses than it has set out in its Unitary Development Plan (UDP).

It also claims the plan's allocation of 50 hectares for business development is not enough to meet the growing manufacturing presence in Powys.

Powys companies are bucking the national trend by having increased turnovers, mainly because many of them are smaller, niche conerns Bill Norris, MWMG

Powys County Council's unitary development plan proposes the building of almost 6,000 new dwellings in the county until 2016.

Proposed developments in the county are currently in draft form and a revised version of the plan is expected during the summer of 2004.

Ambitious targets

MWMG, which is a limited company owned by 190 mid Wales companies, has written to the local authority urging changes to the draft plan.

It believes more ambitious targets should be set, including the development of at least one major centre for retail and entertainment.

Eamonn Forde is MWMG's chairman as well as managing director of Newtown-based William O' Hanlon, which employs 80 people making curtains and window blinds

Eamonn Forde: He believes an entertainment centre will attract workers

"We constantly see the young, talented and highly qualified people of Powys leave the county for the bright lights of Cardiff or England," he said.

"We should be striving for a major retail and entertainment centre created by 2016 that will not only ensure the young people of Powys stop leaving the county for the facilities present elsewhere, but actually attract skilled people into Powys."

Mr Forde pointed out that a low unemployment rate in Powys meant that there were plenty of jobs available for workers but a dearth of skilled workers such as carpenters, electricians and welders was causing problems.

Bill Norris: He believes Powys companies are bucking the national trend

Bill Norris, MWMG's company manager said that a number of companies were having to bus people into the county, including a Brecon company bringing people in from South Wales and workers travelling from Telford to Welshpool.

"Powys companies are bucking the national trend by having increased turnovers, mainly because many of them are smaller, niche conerns," said Mr Norris.

"This means that much more than 6,000 houses need to be built over the next 13 years or it will be difficult to attract the sort of skilled workers we want."

A Powys council spokesman said the authority welcomed all contributions to the debate on the future for Powys which had been engendered by the publication of the development plan.