A NEW Llanidloes hotel and restaurant is set to create 20 new jobs and bring an historic building back to life in the town.

Chartists 1770, based at The Trewythen, will open later this month at the former Trewythen Hotel in Great Oak Street.

The new business, operated by the Cambrian Training Company, will open up 20 full-time and casual posts after the Grade II listed Georgian building has been transformed into a restaurant with seven refurbished ensuite bedrooms.

Cambrian Training Company’s managing director, Arwyn Watkins, believes the restaurant and rooms have significant potential.

He said: “We believe we have the right team to take forward this new business unit within Cambrian Training Company and make a difference both to Llanidloes and Mid Wales.

“We are really looking forward to offering quality food, accommodation and service, and developing the Chartist 1770 brand. We want customers to sit down and enjoy a dining experience.

“If we can get the business template right by bringing life back into such a prominent building in the centre of Llanidloes, there is nothing to stop us from doing the same in other towns in the future.

“We are creating an opportunity to show people that the hospitality industry, which is very close to my heart, can provide really good careers.

“This exciting new venture demonstrates Cambrian Training Company’s pasture to plate ethos.”

The company invested £250,000 into the project, which along with rooms, accommodates indoor and outdoor dining facilities.

Nick has competed around the world with Culinary Team Wales, and is relishing the opportunity of returning home to Llanidloes to do what he loves.

He said: “It’s a massive opportunity to work in one of the most historic buildings in Wales.

“The reopening of the former Trewythen Hotel as a restaurant with rooms is one of the most exciting things to happen in Llanidloes in recent years. It has created a real buzz in the town.

“We want to help establish Llanidloes as a popular tourist destination, as we have so much on our doorstep here at the gateway to the Cambrian Mountains, including being the first town on the River Severn and having some of the best fishing and mountain biking in the UK.”

Mrs Davies added: “We are delighted to be involved in this exciting, new venture in Llanidloes which is employing people from within the community. In addition to the restaurant, we have seven refurbished rooms, including four for families.”

The building is rich in history, having been at the centre of the famous Chartist uprising in Llanidloes in 1839.

What began as a peaceful protest for universal voting rights for men, ended in the hotel being stormed by rioters who freed three members of the Chartists movement who had been imprisoned there.

It took four days for soldiers to restore order and eventually 33 people were jailed. Two of the ringleaders, Abraham Owen and Lewis Humphreys, were deported to Australia while the third, Thomas Jerman, escaped to America where he settled and had a family.

The hotel side of the business opens on Monday, May 24 and the restaurant will welcome its first customers on Thursday, May 27, subject to Welsh Government Covid-19 restrictions.

The restaurant has 50 covers including four outdoor dining pods each with a table for six.

Bookings can be made at www.trewythenhotel.wales