Former Rhyl bingo site-turned-cannabis farm becomes a community hub

The East Parade building, formerly the home of Gala Bingo, has been taken on by Rhyl businessmen Stephen Wright (Sovereign Trophies) and Craig Cummings (High Street Print Shop, formerly of Alpha Print).

Together, the duo have overseen the building’s revamp to create “High Street Hwb”, which launched roughly a fortnight ago at 1-4 East Parade.

Already, its events area is used as a base for martial arts and Morris dancing, while it also has a co-working area, and a shared retail space.

High Street Hwb as it looked when Stephen and Craig took on the property (Image: Stephen Wright)

Stephen said: “We got the keys to the place on September 1, and have been working on it non-stop, seven days a week, ever since.

“We’ve used 80 litres of paint, because it’s an absolutely huge space which was pretty much destroyed from everything that was done to it.

“There are still areas which we need to finish off, like a low-cost community café, and a ‘guilt-free foodbank’ where we’ll take in donations, bag them up, and anyone can come and take anything they need without having to interact with them.”

Craig and Stephen have, by their own admission, been “haemorrhaging money” to bring the building back up to standard, after the site was left derelict following Gala Bingo’s departure, only for the cannabis farm to be discovered there last year.

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Cannabis farm worth £1.5 million discovered in old Bingo Hall in Rhyl

High Street Hwb as it looked when Stephen and Craig took on the property (Image: Stephen Wright)

They’ve self-funded it all, and hope other aspects of the hub also entice residents to make use of its services.

These also include free printing for CVs, job applications, and missing pet posters, and no charge for any good causes who need to use the space.

It has also been serving as a storage and drop-off point for a toy giveaway it will host to help struggling families in the run-up to Christmas.

Its tea and coffee machine, which also makes hot chocolate, is operated on an “honesty” basis, whereby people can make a donation, but don’t have to pay for a hot drink if they can’t or don’t want to.

Stephen and Craig's renovation work at High Street Hwb (Image: Stephen Wright)

Stephen added: “We’re just trying to bring this disused building back to life, for the good of the community.

“We’ve both had our own small shops in the past, and were struggling to locate premises when we first took them on, so the shared retail space is an idea for small local crafters and people who wouldn’t have an opportunity to exist on the high street.

“They come in, take a shelving unit from us, we’ll administer all of the sales, and all they have to do is just create the products and give us a price list.

“The feedback’s been amazing, because we’re taking on this abandoned building which was classed as an eyesore for so long, and because there doesn’t seem to be much similar to it in Rhyl or Denbighshire.”