Old Bank Antiques in Royal Wootton Bassett is marked its first anniversary. It was a year ago that businessman Jon White breathed life into an historic Wiltshire building – the former HSBC bank at 143 High Street – and opened its doors. The ribbon was cut by Wiltshire TV presenter and antiques expert Paul Martin. Within three months, the shop had to close during lockdown and this fledgling business – like so many others – had to go online. Jon said: “What a year it’s been. We could not have imagined that we would have had to shut up shop for weeks at a time due to Covid-19. However, we’ve not been deterred and we’re not alone.
Small business owners are urging people to shop local to help them stay afloat following the Tier 4 announcement. All non-essential shops, salons, beauty parlours, and gyms had to close from New Year’s Eve as the town entered the ‘stay at home’ alert level. The Adver spoke to business owners who have been impacted by this tier change and they have urged people in the area to continue to support small companies. Emma Amini is the owner of Wiltshire’s only CBD café – Total Health Café – and recently marked her first year since she opened. She told the Adver: “I was absolutely gutted to hear the news, I understand there’s a need for it but I really don’t know what we’re going to do.