Trowbridge street project could be a 'turning point'

Work on Trowbridge Town Hall should be finished next year

A £16m Government funded project to improve Trowbridge town centre is already "delivering a better town", according to local politicians.

Work on the Victorian town hall continues and some of the improvements to footways and key road junctions are now complete, with more starting next month.

The plans focus on making the town more pedestrian friendly and welcoming.

Town councillor Stewart Palmen explained: “people should be more comfortable walking and will find that cars don’t dominate as much as they used too."

Neil Brownrigg runs The Little White Duck sandwich shop and says he's seen the improvements increase footfall

The work on the town hall will create a bigger venue for events and a diverse programme of cultural and social activities. Part of the funding is being used to support efforts to bring vacant commercial units back into use.

Neil Brownrigg has run The Little White Duck sandwich shop in the town's church street for ten years.

He said he can see the improvements are working and more people are coming through the town on foot.

The improvements are designed to help local people access the prettier parts of the town more easily

Mr Brownrigg said the town deserves the investment being made.

"There are some wonderful buildings, all sort of tucked away, it doesn’t take too much hunting to find them.

"We just need people to come in and see them and appreciate what there is," he added.

Pavement widening has made walking around the town centre feel more relaxed

Councillor Palmen says that co-operation between the town and Wiltshire Council has been key to the success of the project.

"We walked around with Wiltshire Council officers and reviewed what they were planning and they changed some of the plans based on our input above," he explained.

The improvements make the town centre , its landmarks , and the River Bliss more accessible from the railway station. The work will be completed in 2025.