The amazing small businesses of Melksham have stepped up and supported the people of this town and the surrounding area incredibly well this year, quickly developing and delivering new services to meet rapidly changing customer needs.

This has embraced, for example, take-away meals, click and collect services, home deliveries, online sales, as well as providing safe, welcoming environments for customers. Those who were elderly and vulnerable, carers, volunteer workers, as well as those who were simply, but very understandably, anxious, were catered for too with extended and dedicated opening hours.

Our businesses achieved all this with characteristic good humour and without compromising any of the attributes that make our small businesses so very special – high quality goods, exceptional product knowledge and fabulous customer service.

This year has been particularly hard though for our businesses too, as restrictive COVID security guidance and regulations changed – frequently, costly to implement, and often at short notice. So today, Small Business Saturday 2020 [5 December], is the day when we can recognise and support them. Voting with your feet is the time-honoured way of doing this, so please show your support and shop in our small businesses in Melksham today.

And if you haven’t done this for a while, we’re confident you’ll enjoy the experience so much, that shopping on our high street will become a regular pattern of activity for you.   And remember, when you do this, you’re supporting local people and their families to make a living, who in turn, spend money in our local economy.