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Melksham Traders - where do we go?

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2009-06-05 16:34:43 - Graham Ellis



Some people tell me how quiet Melksham in these days, and other tell me that it's bustling. The picture above shows that it's somewhere between the two - there's certainly a reasonable number of people about, but we could do with more.

Some shopkeepers / shop owners are concerned at the effect that a new out of town supermarket (Asda) will have on them ... others report that in previous places they've lived, spin-off business from out of town stores has rejuvenated their places of work and the work centres too ... "People no longer go to Northampton" ...

Some businesses tell me how hard hit they were when the road through the town was closed for works. Others wish that the section outside their places could become pedestrian areas.


Melksham has a very wide range of town centre businesses - and a very wide range of views. In my role with the Chamber of Commerce, I have been meeting many of them and I'm scratching my head as to how we can and shoudl work together, yet meld these differing viws. And we have other differing views too - with regards to topics like the re-opening of the Canal / improvement of the river frontage.

Yet scratching my head does seem to work and bring *some* areas of Unity. The town traders / business map that we're working on had support from nearly all. The call for an improved rail service brings opposing sides on the other arguments together.

Melksham has some wonderful stores - some new, some old and old fashioned (like "The Toy Shop" pictured above), where you can go back into what seems like a past age and browse wonderful stacks of toys - and people do, and they buy - and this wide selection gives Melksham a bright future.

Then there are always the characters, and the character signs. Have a look at this picture I took yesterday, and see if you can stop anything odd in the signs