Trowbridge Castle Place ‘bustling’ with new business after deal fails

Castle Place in the heart of Trowbridge has seen a number of businesses working on branches on the upper precinct as they prepare to open, with local charity Starry Eyes at the centre of efforts to revive a business community.

As reported in this paper over the past two weeks, Gemma’s Tasty Bakes, and The Whisk Bakehouse are two of several new businesses setting up shop in the centre after proposals to redevelop the site were shelved.

Sally Boyle, Starry Eyes’ co-founder, said that in January, the charity had been asked to lead the way in recruiting new businesses for the centre, having become a hive of activity since opening its first store in late 2025.

She explained: “[Tahir Ali] asked us to get the community involved and to get the units let out to other groups. Within a week of that discussion, we had filled loads of spots.

“We’ve only got one unit left, which we haven’t even tried to let yet. It’s bustling up here with people working on the units and painting."

Next door to its own site, the charity is also working on an event space itself. Sally explained: “It’s going to be a community hub, a music and arts and crafts hub. We’ll have live performers in there, karaoke in there once a week.”

Meanwhile, the charity’s chair Alison Urch said getting businesses back into the centre was vital to keeping in-person shopping alive, and that the owner of the centre had been “thrilled” with the progress they had made so far.

Alison said: “I understand the processes and things. He said give it three months. We've filled it within a week.

“He’s paid for quite a few repairs and anything that’s been necessary. He was absolutely thrilled so far. And at the moment, we’ve got some interest in the hairdressers.”

Castle place with drive to fill up with shops. (Image: Trevor Porter)

Asked why she thought it was important for the centre to make a comeback, Alison praised the community that has built up in the centre, saying: “Because there’s an awful lot of people finding now that Covid’s disappeared...[they] want to be able to have face to face shopping. We do hot drinks, a pound a mug, and there’s a lot of people that come every day.”

Tahir Ali, who owns Castle Place, said: “We remain committed to our investment in Castle Place Shopping Centre since its acquisition.  

“Whilst many previous tenants had used the property for storage, which didn’t really contribute to attracting many visitors to the centre, it is good to now be able to work with a variety of new businesses, community organisations, and charities. Interest from several parties remains strong and it is good to have options.

“It gives us great pleasure to be working with many of these organisations as they have been working very hard to encourage more footfall into the centre and the Town Centre.

“Whilst the long-term future of Castle Place Shopping Centre is still being worked on, we look forward to working with all parties and our tenants.”

The repopulating of the upper floor comes after a months-long stretch that saw businesses gradually withdraw from the centre.

In early September, the marketplace on the lower floor closed for good, with each business having to relocate or shut down altogether.

Hot on the heels of that development was the announcement Wiltshire Council would transfer the multi-storey car park to Mr Ali along with £2.5 million in an incentive to demolish the site for redevelopment.

The plan was dramatically shot down by a single vote during a full council meeting in January.