A NEW business association for Westbury has been set up in a bid to rejuvenate the town centre, bringing it back to its former glory as a bustling town centre with a variety of shops.
The scheme is the idea of two local business owners, Emma Symonds from EJ Crafts and Lauren Taylor from Craftology, who want to use the association to promote businesses in the town and also attract new ones to the area. The pair also want to see the market make a return.
“Westbury is a dying town,” said Emma, “and we want to stop Westbury from dying. When I was younger there were lots of different shops in the town. I can remember there being a sports shop, an opticians, even a wallpaper shop. Now it’s just charity shops and takeaways.
“We want to create a town like before, so people don’t have to travel to Trowbridge and Warminster to do their shopping. We want more footfall in the town, which could attract more independent shops to Westbury, helping to fill up the empty buildings.
“Another aim is to bring back the market. Westbury used to have a fantastic market with a variety of stalls.
“The town council have said that they like the idea and that they will help and support the association with organising events. The business association is open to everyone; from retail and on trading estates, to people who work from home or from their vans. The aim is to encompass all the businesses in Westbury and to increase footfall for everyone by organising events, advertising on the website and provide network opportunities.
“We plan to meet every three months to informally discuss upcoming opportunities to showcase businesses, any event ideas and any special offer that could be put on the website.
“It is completely free to join. All you have to do is send us your business name, what you do and your contact details. All this information we will put on a website, which will be open to the public. The idea is to show people what Westbury can offer.
“For anyone wanting to promote special offers on the website, there will be an additional cost of £5 to this on the website. This money will go towards putting on events and helping new businesses with their start up cost.”
Emma and Lauren have already started work planning events for the new association with a ‘Made in Westbury’ arts and crafts fair in the pipeline and a ‘Sit and Knit’ day scheduled for Saturday 9th June.
For more information or to register your business, email: westburybusinessassociation@gmail.com
