Corn Exchange Crickhowell is closing in on the £400,000 needed to secure the former pub for the town and saving the High Street from the threat of a supermarket there for good.

Only £17,000 is needed to reach the threshold at which the project can definitely go ahead and Corn Exchange Crickhowell (CECLtd) will sign contracts of sale with the pub’s owners, Punch Taverns. The Christmas Eve total stands at £383,090

Crickhowell-based accountant and director of CECLtd, Peter Roberts, said “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it by Christmas so everyone could go into the Festive break knowing the building can be secured and the threat of a supermarket there is gone forever”

Members of CECLtd visited The Corn Exchange yesterday with Llangynidr-based architect, Glyn Smith. In a major boost to the campaign, he has offered his services for free through to the point that plans to convert The Corn Exchange into small shops and offices are given planning approval.

Acting Chairman of CECLtd, Dean Christy, said:”This is a fantastic offer and a measure of the level of excitement which The Corn Exchange project is generating in our community.”

As part of the deal to buy The Corn Exchange, the owners, Punch Taverns Ltd have already made available all the reports, plans and records which they gathered for their bid to turn it into a supermarket – meaning the architect can get to work without delay.

The group hope to sign contracts of sale with Punch Taverns on January 15th and start the process of gaining planning permission straightaway. They have set themselves a target of getting the new Corn Exchange open 9 months later.

Dean Christy said: “We are ambitious, which is why we need to turn the remaining pledges into investments as soon as possible – so The Corn Exchange won’t stand empty a second longer than it has to.”

It’s not too late to get involved in this fantastic community project. You can find it at www.seedrs.com/corn-exchange-crickhowell1 or email [email protected]