This Saturday at 2.30pm, there will be an informal gathering of councillors from county, district and town council to look at what is needed for the safety of residents, workers and visitors in the town when many shops re-open on the 15th. Obviously observing government guidelines will be challenging for many market towns. They will be meeting at the Market House and then having a tour of the town to see what is needed and what can be done, so they can take it back to their respective councils. This is why it is imperative to come up with a cohesive workable plan. Some suggestions already made have been to install a one-way pedestrianisation scheme and to widen the pavements by the use of bollards where possible. However no plan has been set yet. So it’s imperative that this is driven from grass-root level by listening to the people who will need and benefit from any scheme the most to regenerate our market towns after such a long period of inactivity. If you have any suggestions please email Tara at executiveofficer@tetbury.gov.uk or Georgina at ctdmanager@tetbury.gov.uk. If you have a business that is opening, please email the Chamber of Commerce so your business can be placed on the website saying that you are open and what times you will be open and any restrictions. They will also be using Facebook and other social media platforms to promote shops and businesses. If your business is not yet re-opening, please contact us with any information about your business via info@tetburychamber.org.uk.

The St Mary’s virtual church service is currently being held online and available to all every Sunday morning at 10am, giving you the chance to be part of a community service. The current crisis make these services even more special and poignant giving faith to many people in social isolation. The Revd Poppy Hughes said: ‘’It’s wonderful that although our church buildings are closed, our church community is very much alive!’’ If you know someone who would like to join the worship on Zoom on Sunday mornings, please ask them to email Diana Sharp at office@tetburychuch.co.uk and we will add them to the mailing list.

Many shops are already installing safety precautions and measures so they can welcome their loyal customers once again and of course hopefully new ones as well. One business owner told me they are looking forward to re-opening fully and they have been told by many people that they are also looking forward to returning to the shopping experience that is Tetbury, because of its warm friendly approach. Some have already said they feel it would be safer to utilise the unique individual shops, unlike the larger shopping malls.

Tetbury Town Council has now completed its committees for the coming year. The chairs and vice chairs of the committees are as follows. For finance and scrutiny the chair will be Cllr Rob McCorkell, with the Vice-chair Cllr Garry O’Connor. For Planning the chair is Cllr Colin Pearce and Vice-chair Peter Coleman and for Heritage and Regeneration the chair is Cllr Kevin Painter, and vice chair Cllr Martin Lea.

Christmas lights switch on and Christmas events were discussed at the recent Heritage and Regeneration meeting, and it was agreed that the mayor, Cllr Ann Pearce will be heading up a new committee to plan for this event even though we are still not sure what the future holds. Ann said she is very keen if possible that we have a celebrity and of course the children to switch the lights on to complement each other, if possible. If you have any ideas and would like to get involved in the new committee, please contact Ann direct at annpearce@tetbury.gov.uk.

Many people have enjoyed my updates on the shops and businesses that have continued to operate during the crisis and this will probably be the last one. The market house independent traders have been rejoined once again by the fabulous Jeff and his succulent fresh fish. Jeff told me he’s really glad to be back and he would have been back sooner. However, maintaining his high standards and getting supplies from suppliers had been difficult. But Jeff is looking forward to seeing his old customers and new along with his colleagues who operate under the market house on Wednesdays and Saturdays returning Tetbury to being one of the premier market towns of the Cotswolds.

Tetbury mayor Ann Pearce has said: “I have been asked to inform everyone that the free community meals that have been provided by Calcot Hotel will come to an end with the last meals going out on June 12. This is of course dependent on the restrictions continuing to be lifted, with the Calcot Hotel preparing to re-open it doors in July. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard Davies, and the staff at Calcot Hotel for their commitment and drive, to producing meals for not just Tetbury’s vulnerable residents, but vulnerable people throughout the area. This invaluable service has meant so much to so many, and hopefully as the lockdown eases we will be able to identify other ways in which we can continue to support the more vulnerable members of our community. I would also like to officially thank Cllr Martin Lea for collecting and delivering all meals over the past weeks with the help of his daughter Christine, who also has our deepest thanks.’’