AN OSWESTRY and Shropshire councillor has welcomed the changes implemented by Shropshire Council to help bring shoppers back to the town after the latest easing of lockdown measures.

Shops in Oswestry reopened on Monday with increased pedestrian access around Church Street – including wider pavements – to allow people in wheelchairs and disability scooters, plus those with pushchairs, to observe social distancing which is currently two metres.

Councillor Paul Milner, who sits on both councils and is a former mayor, welcomed the changes as he had been contacted by a number of concerned residents, and also backed Shropshire councillor Steve Davenport's call for a maximum speed limit of 20mph.

"I think that the 20mph zone in the town centre and some of the residential areas is a good thing and I would support Cllr Davenport for that," he said.

"It's been proven that the slower you travel, the less chance you have of hurting someone if you do have an accident, so to bring that 20mph zone in is a good idea in towns like Oswestry.

"It makes people feel safer – more and more people are going to try to pass each other off the pavements, especially on narrow ones, so it would help with keeping speeds down and making motorists more observant.

"Hopefully the extended pavements will help with this.

"It will be from the roundabout opposite Festival Square down to the Cross and then up to Willow Street to the Castle Street junction.

"New Street and Bailey Street, like Cross Street, are already pedestrianised but there will still be loading times in the morning, so it won't be cutting off delivery times altogether.

"But I've had residents getting in touch with me say if they're pushing wheelchairs or scooters, or a pushchair, they're having to pass and not be able to keep to the guidelines on safe distancing.

"I will try to speak to the independent retailers as well as the biggest companies in the town about one way and one way out, but it would be good to go through Oswestry BID too, who will be aware of the changes.

"They will pass that onto local businesses."

Cllr Milner says he also believes that the planning now will help Oswestry bounce back quicker still should there be a second lockdown later int he year.

"He said: "I think this is a way of allaying their fears and for those residents who aren't shielding, it's about them coming back.

"There's talk of reopening pubs, coffee shops, but it's about making the town centre as safe as possible for residents and possibly tourists so they can stay within the guidelines.

"This terrible virus isn't going away and I think it's going to be like this for a few months, and these changes are a sign of things to come.

"Hopefully these plans are in place now for the future so that we can protect the people of Oswestry, and if they decided to come to the town centre, then that's a good thing."