Work has finally started on plans to turn one of Carmarthenshire’s most iconic buildings into a trendy restaurant and cafe bar.
Having been empty for most of the last three years, the Guildhall in Carmarthen is about to be given a new lease of life with the imminent opening of a new development that was first mooted back in 2017.
Despite hopes that work would get underway in 2018, plans stalled due to the complicated nature of the Guildhall - it is a Grade I listed building and approval had to be sought from Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historical organisation, even after Carmarthenshire Council gave the plans the green light in April last year.
The ambitious plans were first announced 18 months ago in November 2017.
The council, who purchased the building for £225,000 in 2016 after it had closed as a Magistrates’ Court, had discussions with a number of interested parties about securing a leasehold for the building.
They struck a deal with Swansea-based developer Nextcolour Ltd, who will now press ahead with opening the building as the newest site in the Lounges chain, who have bars all over the UK including Zinco Lounge in Swansea and Croeso Lounge in Mumbles.
After delays of several months and fears that the plans would not be going ahead, work finally started on Monday and it is hoped that the bar will be open by the end of this summer.
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The Guildhall, located on Guildhall Square in the centre of Carmarthen, has a fascinating history and is more than 240 years old, having opened in its current guise in 1777.
Its complete history dates back even further, with the earliest reference to the building dating as far back as the mid-14th century.
Despite being largely empty since 2016, Dyfed-Powys Police has had a base at the rear of the building since October last year after the closure of its Friars Park station left the force without a permanent location in Carmarthen.
That new police base will remain unchanged, but the front of the ground floor, which houses two former Magistrates’ Courts, will be revamped as part of the new plans to make way for a large open space with a bar to the left as you enter the building.
The first floor, meanwhile, is home to a grand former Crown Court, which will be kept as it was the day it was closed.
There are plans, however, for glass panels to be erected upstairs so that customers at the new bar can see into the historic courtroom, which added to its sense of prestige by being a key location in series one of hit BBC and S4C drama Keeping Faith.
Across the hall from the historic upstairs courthouse, the former jury deliberation room will be turned into customer toilets.
Nextcolour Ltd insist that the work will be carried out sensitively and they are aiming for an opening date of September 1.
A recruitment drive will now take place over the summer months for a range of positions at the new venue, which as yet does not have a name, with around 30 jobs in total being created in the heart of Carmarthen.
