A proposed community-led network for Powys and Mid Wales
Building a circular economy for Mid Wales.
Connecting farmers, businesses, communities and public services to share resources, reduce waste and keep more value within our local economy.
A practical local idea
What if more of what we need is already here?
Across Mid Wales, useful resources, capable people and community knowledge already exist. The challenge is making them visible, connected and easier to put to work locally.
The problem
Resources are present.
Connections are missing.
Distance and dispersed information create practical barriers across a rural region. Valuable things can be underused, discarded or transported away before a local need is known.
Usable materials
Items with useful life remaining can be difficult to discover before they enter a waste stream.
Surplus food
Growers, producers and community food organisations do not always have a simple way to find one another.
Idle equipment
Machinery, tools and facilities can sit unused while others nearby lack affordable access.
Fragmented knowledge
Information about local resources is spread across organisations, personal networks and separate systems.
Barriers to cooperation
Time, transport, regulation and a lack of shared visibility can make good local ideas difficult to coordinate.
Value leaving the area
When repair, reuse and local supply are overlooked, skills and economic value can travel elsewhere.
Our proposed solution
One shared view of the region’s resources and needs.
A central digital resource network could help organisations discover what is nearby, offer what they no longer need, coordinate services and identify opportunities for reuse.
It would support the relationships that already make Mid Wales work — not replace local organisations, council systems or trusted community knowledge.
Explore the circular modelNetwork
How it could work
From visibility to local value.
These are proposed capabilities for a future platform. They will be tested and shaped with potential users and partners.
Discover
Find local materials, equipment, services and opportunities.
Connect
Bring together people and organisations with complementary needs.
Exchange
Facilitate reuse, repair, sharing, donations and local trade.
Reinvest
Strengthen local communities and reduce unnecessary waste.
Resources near Newtown
Within 25 milesThe digital platform
A clearer picture of what we have — and what we need.
The proposed platform could combine a local directory, materials exchange, asset registers, bookings, logistics coordination and simple impact reporting.
Important: All interface content shown here is fictional demonstration data. The platform is a future service, not currently operational.
Explore the platform