Wilton Village Restoration: A New Chapter for Our Community

There’s been a lot happening at Wilton Village recently, and if you’ve visited over the past few months you’ll have started to see the changes taking shape. We’re in the middle of a wider restoration project to bring the site up to a better standard, refresh its identity and create a village that feels welcoming, vibrant and more connected. So, we wanted to share an update on what’s been happening and what’s coming next.

When the owner of Wilton Carpets bought back the lease for the rest of the site earlier this year, it created a rare opportunity to bring everything under one roof again. For the first time in a long time, the carpet factory and the wider village are moving forward as one connected place, with a shared vision for how the site should look, feel and function.

A Fresh Identity for the Village

The biggest part of the Wilton Village Restoration has been reintroducing the village with a clearer sense of place. That’s meant updating the name, developing a new brand for the site and launching our brand-new website. This work sets the foundations for everything else — from how the space is used, to the way people find us, to how the businesses here present themselves as part of a growing community.

Our new signage has already started going up around the village, and the internal signage will follow in the new year. Once complete, the whole site will feel more cohesive and easier to navigate.

Improving the Outdoor Spaces

Alongside the wider branding and site updates, we’ve also been refreshing the outdoor areas to make them more inviting. Garden designer Robert Kennett — who many of you will know from his beautiful courtyard of plants beside the café — has been leading the landscaping work. His planting and layout improvements are already bringing some life back into the space.

Inside the new courtyard, Sarah from Pod & Pip and her team have also been helping brighten the area with seasonal displays and planting, whilst Robert will be landscaping the historic courtyard. Looking ahead, we’ll be fully re-tarmacking the approach to the car park to improve safety and make the village easier to move around.

Alongside the bigger changes you’ve already seen, there are also lots of smaller details being picked up on every week – things like railings that need replacing, gates that need repairing, little areas that need refreshing. These tweaks might seem minor on their own, but together they’re part of an ongoing effort to bring the whole village up to a standard that reflects its history, its community and where it’s heading next.

Supporting Independent and Local Businesses

A huge part of Chris’ vision for the Wilton Village Restoration is supporting independent and local businesses. The aim is to create a place where small traders, makers and community-focused businesses can thrive.

Next year, we’re planning to introduce a regular weekly market, building on the success of our Christmas Market. This will focus on local crafters, small independent traders and creative businesses who want a space to share their work with the community.

Looking Ahead: Ideas for New Spaces

Behind the scenes, the plans for Unit 5 are underway. Once developed, this will open up even more space for new businesses to join the village. Nothing is set in stone yet, but a few early ideas that have been discussed include things like a gym and fitness space, restaurant/bistro and a shared retail space for multiple independent sellers.

These are just possibilities at this stage, and we want to keep the conversation open.

If you have suggestions for what you’d like to see, or if you have a business idea and want to chat to us about the space, please get in touch at he***@**************co.uk.

What This All Means for Wilton Village

The Wilton Village Restoration is a gradual process, but every step is moving us closer to a village that feels active, local and full of potential. There’s still plenty to come, but the foundations are firmly in place — and the progress so far already feels like a real shift.

Thank you for bearing with us during the changes and for continuing to support the businesses here. We’ll keep sharing updates as the project develops.