Commercial units in a new Carmarthenshire town centre building will be ready for occupancy in just over two months’ time, the County Council have said.

The Market Street North in Llanelli development comprises five groundfloor commercial units and 10 flats above.

The site on the corner of Market Street and Stepney Street used be home to the former Cambrian Hotel and Barbican pub – and a restaurant operated from the hotel building until the end of 2019.

The council submitted plans for the new mixed-use scheme six years ago and it finally got under way following demolition work and delays.

Speaking in the summer of 2024, cabinet member Cllr Hazel Evans said the authority had recently begun marketing the site and was taking forward interest shown.

The council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week that commercial units would be ready in April, and added: “At this stage, the council is continuing to engage with potential occupiers and the commercial spaces are being actively marketed.”

The project is one of a number of interventions by the council to try to boost the economy and footfall in Llanelli. A retail study in early 2023 in the wake of the Covid pandemic said 83 of Llanelli’s 314 retail and service units were empty – a vacancy rate of 26.4%.

Another council scheme was the redevelopment of the former YMCA building opposite Spring Gardens to create flats and commercial and office space over three floors. The new-look building opened in 2024.

The council’s website currently has details of office and commercial space being available there. Three of four groundfloor units weren’t occupied as of earlier this month but the council said another had been leased and would open shortly.

The remaining spaces were being marketed and shown to interested parties, said the council. It added: “The council has previously accommodated pop-up shops within the former YMCA building to encourage interest.”

The council is also looking at potentially relocating Llanelli indoor market to the former Wooldworths building on Vaughan Street but not until 2028 and on the basis of requirements such as planning consent.