New year welcomes new shops to Melksham!

MANY high streets up and down the country are struggling with empty shops, but in Melksham three new businesses have opened already this year, making it a bright start for 2016.

Monique Johnstone has opened a Cambridge Weight Plan Centre in the Littlebrook Centre.

Monique is a Cambridge Weight Plan consultant and benefitted from the diet herself. She said, “Last year, due to a tumour on my spine I spent six months in a wheelchair. The combination of no exercise and heavy medication meant I gained a lot of weight.

“I tried lots of diets but with no success so I visited the Cambridge Weight Plan Centre in Chippenham and have never looked back. I lost three stone in nine weeks and more importantly I’ve kept it off.

“I would encourage anyone struggling with their weight to come and see me to discuss the various options. I can devise a meal plan, have a great range of products and offer free one- to-one support.”

Also new to that end of the town is second hand furniture shop ‘David’s Emporium’ on Bath Road. The shop which used to be ‘It Is What It Is’ is run by local couple John Triggs and Liz Galley.

John said, “We hoped to open a shop last year with Liz’s brother David but never found the right premises. Then this place became available but sadly David passed away two months before. We have opened the shop in his memory.

“We sell secondhand quality furniture at prices that won’t break the bank. We have a real mix of items in the shop from dressing tables and silver jewellery to sofas and china sets. Prices are mostly negotiable as well, we want the people of Melksham to be able to afford our items.

“We’d also like to increase the number of tourists in the town and bring more people to Melksham. We already have great antique shops so if we can attract people to the town then it keeps the businesses going, which in turn helps the community.”

Finally, a family from London has moved to Melksham and set up ‘Super Gift Mobile Accessories’ just off the Market Place on Spa Road.

The shop which is owned by Mohammed Akbari and run by Javed Zaheer and Najeeb Doulatzai offers unlocking and repair services for mobile phones, laptops, iPads, iPhones and tablets. The shop is also packed with every accessory you would ever need for your phone or tablet.

Javed said, “We have over 20 years of experience in this area and I  worked for Apple for four years, so I have a lot of knowledge about Apple products.

“We have already felt very welcome in Melksham and have had great feedback from customers. They have told us that it’s great that they can get their phones repaired in the town as before they would have travelled to Chippenham or Trowbridge.

“They are also pleased that we offer an on the spot repair service so whereas before they would have had to wait a week or two for their device to be fixed, we can do it in a couple of hours.

“Melksham is a lovely place with very friendly people and we look forward to growing the business in the town.”