THE Malmesbury Town Team is continuing to support retailers and businesses in the town during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consisting of a group of local people, many with business experience, the team is holding regular conference calls for business owners with experts on hand for one-to-one sessions on operations, marketing and finance, whilst also actively encouraging retailers and the hospitality industry to consider the challenges they may face in the months and years ahead.

Malmesbury Town Team spokesperson Gordon MacPherson explains: “The challenge retailers face is massive; many people may not be immediately comfortable coming back to town centres - even with increased safety measures.

"Now that we’re in a position to safely open up to the public again, businesses in Malmesbury are looking towards what the future could look like.

"Click & collect will continue to grow – perhaps with opportunities for towns to create an online collective platform for businesses which operate in bricks and mortar only.

"Increased online options and delivery services will be welcomed not just by the elderly or shielding but also the additional people now working from home, which may continue for them for some time.

"Plus, there’s a huge opportunity to make the most of our shop local Malmesbury Gift Card scheme launched late in 2019 with over 34 town centre shops and businesses involved."

One café which has embraced this vision is The Summer Café on the High Street which re-opened on Friday with an easy to use click & collect take away menu for their previously popular menu.

They have also expanded their business into the premises next door in readiness for the social distance space needed for eating in.

Owner Debbie Wood said: “We’ve had a very positive response to our click & collect service, people have found it easy and convenient to be able to order and pay online, then pop in at the selected time and pick up their coffee or brunch!

"It’s a great way of helping to overcome the challenges of social distancing and everything we can do to make it easy and safe for people to shop in Malmesbury is great for the town centre in general, so we are really pleased to have been able to take this step.”

Gordon continued: “We are living in strange times and we all need to adjust. Sustainability, climate change, community and green spaces are what our minds should be exploring, not to mention how technology can help us all and, before all that, how we get through the immediate crisis, which will be with us for a long time. Let’s all support our local traders. Whilst there are tough times ahead a massive opportunity exists as customers move to local rather regional destinations. Let’s not forget how lucky we are in Malmesbury to live in such a vibrant, treasured and historic space as we return to the high street, shop local and see our businesses build again for the future.”

Any business interested in joining the next conference call for business owners should email hello@discovermalmesbury.life