A £16.3 million bid to transform Trowbridge town centre is set to bear fruit as salon, bar and shop owners reveal their plans for the government cash.
The Future High Streets Fund programme awarded Wiltshire Council the eight-figure sum in 2021 to help revitalise Trowbridge town centre in a way that drives growth.
Up to 16 local entrepreneurs are contracted to receive grants to expand their business, and a further five are waiting to have contracts confirmed once they have met pre-contract conditions.
Among them are Becky Colwill, from Eden Beauty & Aesthetics, who gained £23,000 towards a £34,000 project to expand her business.
Becky, 39, said: “I don’t think I would have got so far as I have without the grant. I would not go anywhere else now. Trowbridge is going to be up and coming.”
Mrs Colwill used the funds to refurbish her Eden Beauty & Aesthetics Studio in St George’s Works, where she offers botox and filler treatments.
She has since changed the company name to Eden Beauty Group Ltd and has applied for two more grants totalling £40,000 to launch two more businesses.
They are a new Eden Hair & Laser Studio at St George’s Works and Eden Lashes, Brows & Permanent Make-up in Castle Street.
“I managed to submit the other two applications before the deadline but they have not yet been agreed because Wiltshire Council has limited funds left," she said.
Another beauty business using the FHSF grants to expand is Finney’s Hair & Beauty Salon, which is moving from St George’s Works into Silver Street.
Owner Kerryanne Hall, 34, feels the time is now right to have a high street presence.
She will open the new salon on Tuesday, September 5 with the £25,000 grant she received and hopes to employ more stylists.
“The Silver Street premises will give us more visibility," she said. "I think that it would be nice to be noticed and to be seen."
More than 85 enquiries were received after Wiltshire Council launched the FHSF grants scheme in September 2022 to help fill empty commercial premises in the town centre.
Up to 41 applications were received and 11 of these were later withdrawn by the applicants, leaving 30 still active by the July 31 deadline.
Cllr Laura Mayes, Wiltshire Council’s deputy leader, said: “We are really pleased with the level of interest shown in this scheme and the high quality of the proposals and schemes which came forward.
“This initiative is already having a positive impact on the town centre and we look forward to working with successful applicants to make their ideas become a reality and to transform Trowbridge town centre into a vibrant place to live, work and shop.”
Kez Garner, of Invest in Trowbridge and chair of Trowbridge Chamber of Commerce, said: “We have been assisting with contacts and signposting landlords and tenants.”
Other businesses with grants include Parade House in Fore Street, the H B Pitt garden shop in Silver Street, and JEM Body Solutions in Manvers Street.
Dean Toon has applied for a grant to open the Hidden Chef Deli and Events Kitchen at St George’s Works after closing his brasserie.
A new creative art space and sustainable printing studio is to open in St George’s Works, while Innox Mills plans to open the Bowyers Studios at 6 Stallard Street in October.
In addition, Stone Developments has applied for FHSF money to convert 21-22 Fore Street into eight flats and three to four shops or bars.
Other applications have been awarded in principle for a craft gin bar, a charity space, a children’s arts event space, and a new shop to let at 42 Fore Street.
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