POWYS County Council has said it is “exploring options” to pay in car parks after 20 minute queues of people waiting to use the machines developed in Machynlleth on market day, leading some to give up and leave.

David Preston, the former town clerk of Oswestry Town Council and now Chief Executive Officer of the Chief Executive Officer National Association of British Market Authorities, saw queues develop as visitors battled to use the two car parking ticket machines on Maengwyn Street on market day in Machynlleth last week.

He said that “lots of people walked away” and that the issues were turning people off visiting.

Powys County Council said it was looking at introducing a phone payment option to alleviate the issue that “experiences high levels of use every Wednesday due to the town’s market day and especially during the school holidays.”

The council said that the current system was affected by delays when busy due to having to enter registration details, and can also be affected if the 4G signal the machines rely on for card payments is weak.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, 23 August, Mr Preston said: “Sort it out Powys Council.

“Twenty minutes plus to pay for parking tickets in Machynlleth today.

“Main town centre car park and long queues at every machine.

“Lots just walked away and said they would travel on to Aberystwyth.

“To add to the frustration they have closed their toilets.

“What a welcome for visitors.

“No wonder the town is struggling.”

The toilets at Maengwyn Street, the only council-owned block in the town, were closed in January this year after repeated vandalism and rising rates sent maintenance and upkeep costs beyond £25,000.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “Although there are two pay and display ticket machines in Machynlleth’s Maengwyn Street car park, it experiences high levels of use every Wednesday due to the town’s market day and especially during the school holidays.

“Other factors which would have contributed to the delay is the need to put in registration plate details and the ticket machine’s 4G signal.

“If the registration plate details are not provided in good time, then the ticket machine will re-set and the process will have to start again.

“If the 4G signal is weak, this can delay the process time of purchasing a parking ticket using contactless or card payment.

“The council is currently exploring a phone payment solution so that visitors can pay for to use our car parks through their phone instead of using the car park’s ticket machine.”