£0.5m SPEND ON TOWN'S LARGEST SHOPPING CENTRE

Work costing more than £0.5m is to start in The Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge, Wiltshire and is expected to take up to 16 weeks to complete.

It is the first major works carried out in the largest retail centre in the county town since it opened in 1990.

The work, which involves replacing the flooring with new tiles and new safety matting in extended floorwells, will be carried out at night to ensure as little disruption as possible for shoppers and tenants.

About 30,000 tiles will be taken up and once they have all been removed, new ones will be laid in stages.

The Shires, with its three entrances from Fore Street, Castle Street and ASDA supermarket, has nearly 50 shops and is also home to Trowbridge Museum.

The centre celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2010 and new centre manager Sarah-Louise Moore, right, who was appointed just before Christmas, said she was delighted with the plans and although the work might cause some inconvenience this would be kept to a minimum.

“I’m confident tenants and shoppers will be pleased with what they see. About 120,000 people use the centre every week and I’m sure they’ll reap the benefits and be impressed when the work is finished.”