Advice for Town centre businesses set to reopen
Businesses across Newcastle-under-Lyme have been given Council guidance on some of the key measures they need to put in place to be COVID-19 Secure as they reopen after the lockdown.
All businesses in Newcastle-under-Lyme have been sent a letter by the Borough Council, as part of the ‘countdown’ to borough-wide retail reopening on June 15 in a move to support their safe return. The communication includes a checklist detailing some of the control measures needed in order for businesses to be COVID-19 Secure.
The guidance includes self-distancing, cashless payments, safe deliveries, risk-assessment, hygiene and cleaning regimes and details of further advice that is available online.
Council Leader Simon Tagg in Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Centre.
The Leader of the Council, Simon Tagg, said: “The last few months have been a difficult time for everyone, but local businesses have had to face some particularly challenging circumstances. In the last few weeks, as the impact of the pandemic and the conditions around lockdown have evolved in the UK, regular announcements from the Government have identified the sectors of business can restart and a date from which that can take place. The town’s outdoor market stallholders will be among the first retailers to return to Newcastle when it reopens this Friday and Saturday. The Council has extended a six-week rent holiday to all existing and new traders to help them as they get back on their feet.”
It is hoped that most of the town centre shops in Newcastle, Kidsgrove and other shopping areas across the borough will be able to open from 15 June.
In preparation for this Council Officers have arranged for signage and pavement marking to be installed where appropriate to emphasise the need for social distancing.
Cllr Tagg Added: “It’s important that as people return to the shops they do so safely and stay alert and practice social distancing to protect not only themselves but also their family and friends from the spread of the virus.”
Retailers and other businesses who are unable to make the necessary COVID-19 Secure arrangements, however, must stay closed until they can.
