Oswestry business heads welcome plans to build on town's cafe culture

Next month the public will have the chance to have their say on a 'masterplan' for the traditional market town.

This week two local businesses broadly welcomed the vision for Oswestry's future.

Harry Maltby is the manager of Square One, a cafe on Festival Square, whose decision to concentrate on outdoor seating when lockdown restrictions started to ease has mirrored the ideas to bring a pavement culture to the area, including the adjacent Church Street.

It was joined by Pickles, Gillhams and the Cemist cocktail bar, all who now offer pavement seating.

"People in Oswestry have embraced the pavement culture both in Festival Square and other parts of the town," he said.

"It is good to see the councils and Business Improvement District wanting to build on that."

"Festival Square was the venue for the ice skating in the run-up to Christmas and a Halloween event, both of which attracted hundreds of people into Oswestry who may not have come in otherwise. Many will have shopped and enjoyed one of the wonderful cafes, pubs or restaurants."

"It is the area that many people arriving in Central car park will visit first and we have to ensure that it is a welcoming area for them."

Tim Morris, the joint owner of Booka Bookshop, said it was exciting to see emerging ideas for Festival Square and Church Street.

"It is one of the key spaces in the town and it is important that it becomes more pedestrian friendly while still allowing motorists to permeate through the town.

"I feel that the masterplan will give us a guide for managing change and making future choices. It will also allow us to lever in vital funding," he said.

"I hope that it will leads to improvements to the town centre for residents, visitors and other users."