SIGNIFICANT challenges still lie ahead for the team behind the community buyout of the former Corn Exchange pub in Crickhowell High Street - as they seek to turn it into flats and shops for independent traders to use.

Work started at The Corn Exchange in March and there has been rapid progress, but the team managing the project have revealed that they don’t yet have enough funds to finish the converting the building – which is due to be completed by the end of October.

They told the Annual General Meeting of shareholders last week that the company is currently £96,000 short of its target of £755,000.

The Corn Exchange was purchased in October last year, after local people successfully stopped plans to turn it into a national chain convenience store – something they said would ruin Crickhowell’s famously independent High Street and drive family-run businesses to the wall. They raised more than half a million pounds and formed a private company, Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd (CECLtd), to buy and convert the building. Since then, they have stripped it out revealing significant structural problems in the process.

Solutions were found to the problems and more shares were issued to cover the additional costs, but not all of them have yet been taken up.

Corn Exchange Crickhowell’s Finance Director, Peter Roberts, told the meeting of shareholders that they wanted to raise the final funds so they could secure the future of the Grade 2 listed building forever.

“By converting The Corn Exchange into rental units, we can keep control of the building and achieve our aim of protecting Crickhowell’s historic town centre.”

CECLtd’s Managing Director, Dean Christy told the meeting that other challenges included finding the right tenants to go into the three shops – which all have frontages on the High Street.

Mr Christy said, “We are incredibly lucky to have the overwhelming support of our shareholders and so many other people in Crickhowell and we are confident that they will help us complete the conversion and deliver a building of which the town can be truly proud.”

Shareholders were told that the initial trawl for businesses who expressed interest in the shops had been “disappointing” but the company would now redouble its efforts to find the right tenants.

After the meeting, Mr Christy said “We want to find independent shops or businesses with great ideas which will complement the unique small businesses already on the High Street.

“We don’t want national chains here, so this is a rare opportunity for independents to gain a foothold on Crickhowell’s bustling High Street – which is a major draw for tourists and locals alike.”

Small businesses which are interested in space in The Corn Exchange are asked to contact the team via email on [email protected]