AFTER nearly 14 years watching the transformation of a former Trowbridge woollen mill buildings into a bustling shopping centre, The Shires manager Mike Murray is to retire.
Mr Murray has managed the shopping centre since it opened in April 1990, but is now swapping his seat in the centre's hot spot for a place in the sun.
Mr Murray, 58, and his wife Maryann have sold their home in Westminster Gardens, Chippen-ham, and are looking forward to a new life in his wife's native Malta.
Mr Murray said goodbye to colleagues and tenants in The Shires on Wednesday and sets off to drive the 1,800 miles to Malta this weekend.
"I am really looking forward to my new life but I will miss the people," he said.
"I have enjoyed getting things done and seeing improvements through, but the highest point of the job has been seeing the centre fully let after sceptics in the early days said it would never work.
"Seeing it grow from the original five tenants Iceland, Coppernob, Clinton Cards, Tandy and Superdrug with around 30,000 visitors a week to now something approaching 100,000 and more than 40 tenants has been very rewarding."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article