A late 18th Century textiles mill in Trowbridge has been restored and reopened as a shopping and business outlet, thanks to the efforts of a local businessman.

Jon Giles took on the challenge of turning around the fortunes of the ailing Stone Mill, which is next to Asda and The Shires shopping centre, last May, in a bid to reopen it within a year.

Every unit in the Grade II listed building has now been filled, with the last two firms moving in this week.

The property had fallen into disrepair after the previous owner went into receivership, with much of the building remaining empty for several years.

Mr Giles, who runs Giles UK, the parent company of Trowbridge shoe company Mastershoe, said: “We are very pleased, because our aim was to fill Stone Mill within a year and we have done that.

“It has involved a lot of work, but it is providing some fantastic opportunities for a lot of businesses.”

The businesses include hair salon Trevor and Jon by Amy, beauty clinic You Beauty, a private members’ gym, the Revolution gym and online secondhand retailer Money 4 Machines.

Plans for a 50-seat restaurant in the unit, which runs along the riverfront, were dropped in favour of the Revolution gym moving in.

Mr Giles ripped out the fixtures and fittings for the Shires Tavern, a pub that was due to open inside the building but never got planning consent.

Instead, a ground floor unit was created and was taken up by the Trevor and Jon hair salon, which is owned by Amy Pullin.

Michaela Doyle, the owner of You Beauty, which has taken a first-floor unit, said: “We had been running the business for two years on Fore Street, but it was spread over three floors, which proved difficult security-wise.

“If you needed to run upstairs for something, you had to shut the shop. But now everything is on one level, which is much easier for us.

“We’ve made a real effort with the decor and we’ve even got each of our names printed on the door of our treatment rooms.”