Dear Friends
It has been my great honour to serve as your Mayor for the last four months. I can scarcely believe so much time has passed since my election but what I absolutely can believe is how our wonderful town of Warminster continues to go from strength to strength. Warminster is a town of which all residents have every right to feel immensely proud.
I have taken the decision to write this ‘open letter’ from the Mayor to the town of Warminster to share with you all what has been happening.
The town centre
It won’t have escaped your notice that all town centres are struggling at the moment and there are a number of reasons that this is so online shopping and services and high business rates to name but two.
Warminster Town Centre is not immune from such challenges. However, there is really good news to report because over the past few months four new businesses have opened at the same time as us witnessing the renovation of a number of other buildings and enquiries from many others looking to rent or buy a property.
We are delighted to welcome Neighbourhood (coffee, café and local shop), Warminster Nails, Café Anouk and The Malto Lounge. All of these businesses are exciting editions to the town centre attracting people to the town, widening our facilities and so much better than empty buildings.
Let’s shop local
If someone, a multi-millionaire, the Government or Wiltshire Council offered to invest £10 million pounds in our town centre, you’d probably be delighted. That said, we can actually achieve this by ourselves – yes £10 million!
Warminster and its surrounding villages have a population of around 20,000 adults. If each of those adults spent an extra £10 in our local shops each week it would total £200,000 – every week. Over the course of a year that adds up to that £10 million I just mentioned. Even better, most of that £10 million will stay in the local economy supporting Warminster businesses, Warminster jobs and Warminster people.
A small change in our habits can add up to huge positive changes for our town.
The Lake Pleasure Grounds
I often think that The Lake Pleasure Grounds are the jewel in our crown! People come from far and wide to visit with number of visitors in August standing at 45,000 – this fantastic news was gathered from our newly installed people counters. I have many conversations with people in The Lake Pleasure Grounds and they really do come from far and wide – recently I have met people from Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and many parts of Dorset and Somerset as well.
Whether they are dog walkers or café customers, people feeding the wildfowl or families with children enjoying the splash pad, tennis, pickleball or putting enthusiasts, or those whom come because they love to sit and watch the world go by, all agree, our ‘park’ is the most fantastic facility. We can now estimate that between up to 400,000 people visit the park each year; these are astonishing statistics and demonstrate that money spent maintaining this wonderful open space truly represents outstanding value for money.
Market success
Hard to believe that it is less than two years since the first Warminster Independent Market. In that time the number of stalls has kept growing and the number of visitors has kept increasing. The community buy in has grown – town centre shops have stayed open or joined as stall holders, and we have been fortunate indeed that the Chapel of St Lawrence and the Athenaeum Theatre have put on simultaneous events.
Our markets are getting bigger and better and have seen a steady increase in visitors to our town. There is in my mind no doubt that these events will continue to go from strength to strength as they continue to provide a vibrant focus for our town.
Don’t forget our next event on Saturday 29th November – the Christmas market and Christmas lights ‘switch on’. Please do join us to start our seasonal festivities.
Recycle old tech
Finally a word about recycling. We all know how important this issue is and to enhance our already strong green credentials The Town Council now offer a drop off point at the Civic Centre to enable residents to for recycling their old tech. In the last month 33 phones, tablets and laptops have been donated for refurbishing and distribution to the less well off. If you have any unused tech items please do drop them off as they benefit those who can’t afford such items as well as reducing waste and recycling valuable consumables.
To conclude, as I read back through this letter, I am filled with an enormous sense of pride in our town and its residents. So much is happening, so much is growing and of course, so much is to come.
With my very best wishes to each and every one of you.
Cllr Andrew Cooper, Mayor of Warminster
Last modified: 17 September 2025
