'The high street' by wall to wall has now been archived and forgotten. What did we do to seize the moment and ensure we gained some long term benefits? We met and met and met and talked and talked and talked!!! Initially during and shortly after the airing of the film some extra footfall was visible in the high street and what did we offer them? Some enlarged photos in the post office window!!!
We were promised coachloads of tourists as was the case with Hot fuzz in Wells!!! Has anyone else noticed coaches full of tourists eagerly rushing into our high street? The consultation meeting prior to filming was like something out of a Gospel church (hallelujah, praise be to wall to wall, aren't we clever and wonderful for securing the filming) Please can all these enthusiasts put their heads above the parapet and let us all know what else (apart from meeting) has been done to ensure we benefited from the filming? Yet another messed up opportunity for Shepton Mallet!!!

By robjaw at 09:28 on 16/02/11

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What were you expecting, a suitcase of used notes every time an episode went out?! I thought we came out well, and that was something I was worried about. I got text messages (and know lots of other people did including Ed on this site) from people a long way away. Shepton folks have put down their town so much in the past I think it was finally good to see people getting a different message. I agree that it would be good to see more 'walk' and 'less talk' (Shepton 21...is that how many years before we should expect something?) but Im just glad that I am not as disappointed as I expected to be. I expect very little and everything else is a bonus. Sad really.

By GripeAlmighty at 17:19 on 17/02/11
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That stuff about the meeting before they came doesnt surprise me one bit. Tssss..... one word... BOLLARDS!

By Bragster at 17:29 on 17/02/11
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Posted this morning - sorry, missed it! I had quite low expectations about the outcome but what was said about getting messages (and people I deal with in London actually knowing where Shepton Mallet was) is all true. I think the outward improvement of Shepton Mallet's image is probably a slow burner, but the opportunity that arose as a result of the TV Program airing may well have been missed. I think the real lesson is that we shouldn't wait for opportunities or for anyone else to make our town better. It has to come from 'us' by which I mean those involved in running the town have to push it, regardless, and those living here have to be positive, to support the good things and to try and maintain a good opinion of our town, however hard. After all, we are basically the town's sales reps as much as we are fueling it's success when we support our shops, facilities and events. We cant all support everything but its good to make the effort.

By Ed_2010 at 17:38 on 17/02/11
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I have to chuckle, who on earth suggested that a BBC documentary of shops through the time would produce the same amount of interest as Hot Fuzz?! Obviously expectaions along those lines were a little ambitious.

"Shepton folks have put down their town so much in the past I think it was finally good to see people getting a different message" ... I have to agree to a certain extent, it is nice to see something positive about the high street it is just a real shame it was all a mock / set up for the camera.

I am quite surprised at the shops which have turned up on Shepton High street subseqyent to filming, how many more shops selling over priced 2nd hand or new arty farty type stuff do we need, did these shop owners step back and think about the people who live in Shepton and what they actually are likly to buy? Oh well they are at least paying rent and putting money into shepton until they realise it is not viable then we will be back to wither charity shops, hairdressers, pubs / greasy spoons and ****** all else.

I was rather upset with the attitude of the people working on teh project. I was nudged off the pavement while walking down from co-op to the post office by someone on the production team rushing past nearly infront of an on coming car, had a woman runner push infront of me at the post office who just said "you don't mind do you I wont be long" and was told to move my car from a parking space with well outside of the parking restrictions because i was "in the way".

For crying out loud finding usable bits of the high street is hard eoungh without that!

I would hope that the actual filming produced some revenue for the Town. We have the white elephant that is the theatre, the cross and many other things in shepton which just need ... something!

By froggie77 at 15:12 on 11/04/11
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I think "Turn Back Time" would have been better had they actually opened the shops in the way the programme suggested they did... ie. to everybody, rather than cherrypicked "pillars of society" like Cllrs. Marsh etc... the only way that "Shepton Mallet [could] fall back in love with its High Street" is if "Shepton" got to actually go in the shops etc. which the majority of people did not.

Would have been FAR better publicity for the town, imho, if they'd simply done a reality TV show about the REAL shopkeepers, getting in "experts" to help them turn around their businesses... those people would then be still in the High Street (one hopes) after the filming and people may WELL come to visit...

Also, why did TBT use non-Sheptonians as shopkeepers? Again, if the Devlins etc. actually still RAN businesses in Shepton there'd be some link... surely they could have stuck the folks from Denela's in the bakers, the folks from Peppers in the grocers etc. etc. ??

Sean

By seanmiller at 07:49 on 19/04/11
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I could not help to notice people coming to Shepton during week ends looking for the shops used for the series hoping to do some nice photos etc...and leaving instead very disappointed. Q: could we run maybe 1 or 2 shops with people in character selling goods as they where supposed to just at week ends and during holidays? Why the council is not grabbing the opportunity? They could arrange something with Danela's for exemple, am I dreaming? Probably lol , but we have a place similar in Italy and it works :)

By sarcastic_me at 08:53 on 19/04/11
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