Highbridge is on the up say local councillors with a newly refurbished café and Post Office at the Pillar Box. The new owner Scott Watts, 26, said he took on the former Spar store in October and has refitted the shop giving it a new look and attractive street frontage.

“We wanted to make it bright and light inside,” he said, “a one-stop shop at this end of town. It was a Spar shop which had got run down and was dark and dingy. We took it over and there’s now a children’s play centre at the back, the Post Office, a café and a convenience store.”

He said everyone was pleased with the changes and welcomed news that the town council was working on improving the town’s shopping streets with grants for new signage. Mr Watts is also a plumber and is married with two children, while his mother-in-law Sharon runs the café which serves home-made cakes, snacks and teas and coffees.

Mr Watts said he could see the potential in the shop and the potential of Highbridge as a shopping centre but said it was time the burnt down hotel owned by the YMCA was restored. As a member of the Chamber of Trade he also felt that away from Asda there was a space for smaller shops to thrive and that The Pillar Box would be increasing its retail offering with more products over the coming weeks.

The Chamber of Commerce in the town were working with Sedgemoor to create new hanging signs for the shops by offering grants to businesses. The signs are uniform in size and are in the form of a an old style trade sign hanging above the doorway. Mike Murphy of the Chamber said the signs would give a lift to the shops in the town and that Highbridge was on the ‘up’.

Town councillors Janet Keen and Phil Harvey both agreed with the improvements. Cllr Keen said everyone she had spoken with in the town felt the change had been greatly impressed.

Do you think the shopping streets of Highbridge are on the up? Email your thoughts about the town’s retail sector to harry.mottram@nqsw.co.uk