New £1.6m Food Hall for Royal Welsh showground
Builders are putting the finishing touches to a new Food Hall on the Royal Welsh showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, which will be officially opened during this year’s Royal Welsh Show in July. The landmark building, costing around £1.6m, is one of the most ambitious projects to be completed at Llanelwedd since the Royal Welsh moved to the permanent site in 1963.
The funds to pay for the building – currently standing at £1,630,195 – have been raised mainly by the feature counties of Carmarthen (2005), Clwyd (2008), Glamorgan (2009) and Ceredigion (2010). A substantial allocation towards the cost has also come from the Royal Welsh Centenary Fund to which all the counties of Wales contributed when the society celebrated its centenary in 2004.
The new Food Hall, which will provide double the exhibition space of its predecessor, occupies a prime position on the showground fronting the South Glamorgan Exhibition Hall and with access off the main thoroughfare between the Montgomery Pavilion and the old Food Hall which is being put to other uses.
The contract for the construction of the building was awarded to TRJ Betws Ltd of Ammanford who began work on the 26 week project in October. All the units in the Food Hall will be serviced with water, electricity and drainage from beneath the floor with provision for up to 20 units to be serviced with a mains gas supply.
“The level of investment made by the society in the new Food Hall indicates the importance placed on showcasing and promoting the quality food and drink produced in Wales,” said Royal Welsh Chief Executive, David Walters.
“The old Food Hall was opened in 1992 and has always attracted the public in large numbers to view, taste and select from the large variety of products on display. The new Food Hall will provide much more space and flexibility to do this more effectively and the board of management is confident that the new facility will be warmly welcomed by exhibitors and visitors alike.”
The Welsh Assembly Government’s Food, Fisheries and Market Development Division will continue to organise the Food Hall at both the summer show and the Winter Fair.
The new building will be called Neuadd Fwyd/Food Hall.
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