Judges from the Great British High Street Awards spent two hours touring the shops and businesses of Crickhowell last week, as the town nears the final stages of the UK-wide Competition.

The tour took in family-run businesses—some open for 50 years—and the newer shops one of which had been open for less than a week. The judges were told how the town’s traders are supported by shoppers and volunteers who organise events to keep the town vibrant outside of the peak tourist season.

They were led around the town by Tim Jones and Dean Christy of The Corn Exchange project – which stopped a national chain supermarket setting up in a former pub and instead turned it into shops and flats. Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd entered the competition after the Prince of Wales opened the new complex in July.

After the tour, Tim Jones said, “The judges seemed very impressed with the community spirit shown by the people of Crickhowell both through The Corn Exchange and in supporting the town generally. They could not have left town with anything other than a feeling that Crickhowell has something unique.”

During the tour, the judges met Brecon and Radnor AM, Kirsty Williams, who told them she wished she could ‘bottle what we have here in Crickhowell.’

They also met with representatives of the Crickhowell Literary Festival, Totally Locally Crickhowell, Crickhowell Walking Festival, The Rotary Club of Crickhowell, Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau and volunteer-run Crickhowell Resource and Information Centre.

Town councillors told the judges they had been lobbying to improve parking in the town, how they took over the running of the public toilets, and how many of the town’s buildings are owned and maintained by charitable trusts. The judges went into Nicholls, and Webb’s Department Stores as well as the award-winning independent Bookshop, Book-ish, Cashells Butchers, The Bear, and Dragon Hotels, O’Donnell Bakehouse and Wales’ first zero-waste Shop, Natural Weigh.

They were shown around the town’s newest business development, The Courtyard, just off the High Street and had a demo of a new iTown digital mapping system which businesses in Crickhowell are investigating as a means to attract people into town.

Local people and supporters of Crickhowell have been voting on social media. This continued until yesterday (Wednesday, October 31) and the leaders of Crickhowell’s bid were expecting to get around 2,500 votes before the poll closed – more than many large towns in the competition.

Crickhowell is up against Carmarthen, Welshpool, and Holywell in the Wales Champion High Street Category. The victor will go forward to the UK Finals where they stand a chance of winning £15,000 to spend in the community.

Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd’s Managing Director, Dean Christy, said, ”Thursday’s visit could not have gone better and we believe Crickhowell has an excellent chance in the competition. If we are lucky enough to win a prize, we will develop a process for deciding how it is to be spent which is representative of different groups in the town and fair to everyone. It is a very exciting time."