New Highworth shop Weigh It Up offers eco-friendly goods

Matthew Aherne outside Weigh It Up (Image: Newsquest)

Matthew and Michelle Aherne invested around £40,000 into setting up their own business near the traffic lights at the top of Highworth's High Street. 

After leaving the RAF in August, Matt started working with his wife and other friends and family to refit the old Betfred bookmakers on the corner of Swindon Street into their new venture Weigh It Up, which has an eco-friendly ethos.

The refill station in Weigh It Up (Image: Newsquest)

A refill station covers one wall, with all manner of seeds, beans, snacks, pasta shapes, and an assortment of other goods which can be collected in paper bags available in-store or in containers brought from home, then weighed and paid for.

A pick-and-mix station offers a classic mixture of sweet treats, while other displays sell cookbooks, drinks, and unusual ingredients.

Pick and mix near the till in Weigh It Up (Image: Newsquest)

Shelves full of gifts, cards, plants in peat-free pots, alcoholic drinks, and non-bio laundry detergent/hand soap/fabric conditioner fill the other side of the store.

Plants and pots in Weigh It Up (Image: Newsquest)

Despite a few troubles with their internet provider delaying the launch by three weeks and causing ongoing technical difficulties, the couple has already seen a lot of interest and good feedback for the new shop.

Drinks and non-bio products in Weigh It Up (Image: Newsquest)

Matt said: "We think that we have created a shop that is a little different from what people would normally find, hopefully with something for everyone, and that brings together things we like all in one place.

"Saturday was our first day open and it was non-stop, people came in to have a look around or fill up their containers, it was great.

"The refill stations give people a chance to try handfuls of different things, like Goji berries, that you wouldn't normally find in a shop.

"Zero-waste is becoming bigger and bigger every month. We want to do our bit, and help everyone else do theirs.

"I've lived in Highworth for 35 years - Michelle's been here for six - so I feel like a local now."

Another corner of the Weigh It Up shop (Image: Newsquest)

One customer who popped in to browse the shelves said it was "long overdue for Highworth" to have something like this.

Graphic designer Lee Hiom created the signage. The FSA has already given the shop a five-out-of-five food hygiene rating. 

Weigh It Up is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. For more information, visit the shop's Facebook page.

The store used to be a Betfred betting shop (Image: Matt Aherne)

The Weigh It Up store mid-refurbishment (Image: Dave Aherne)

The Weigh It Up shop now (Image: Newsquest)