Coronavirus: Council offers advice to retailers ahead of planned re-opening

Shropshire Council has offered some important advice to retailers planning to re-open next month in line with the latest Government guidance.

Karen Collier, regulatory services operations manager, said:

“We’re currently drawing up plans to ensure that Shropshire’s market towns are ready and able to welcome visitors once shops and other businesses start to re-open – and able to operate in a safe way that protects both their staff and customers, and other town centre visitors.

“The Government has announced that outdoor markets and car showrooms can open from 1 June, and non-essential shops from 15 June, subject to positive progress continuing to be made against the spread of coronavirus. There is currently no change to the rules around bars, pubs and restaurants, and similarly hairdressers, nail bars and beauty salons must all continue to remain closed.

“When these businesses re-open the health and safety of staff and customers will be crucial, so it’s vital that businesses make their workplaces safe to protect their employees and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Retailers will have to adhere to new guidelines to protect shoppers and workers* and it’s clear they will need support as they implement new practices and procedures to satisfy this new guidance. Creating worker and consumer confidence is a key step to economic recovery and we cannot underestimate this significant challenge. There is helpful advice available, both nationally from the government and on the council’s website.

“We also need to remind retailers not to lose sight of non COVID-19 consumer protection requirements that they must continue to comply with in order to ensure that trading takes place fairly and legally. For all retail premises that hold licences issued by the council, business owners are also reminded to ensure they meet those licence conditions that are not COVID-19 related.”

Further information for businesses and the self-employed can be found on the Shropshire Council website.

Further information

*The ‘Working Safely During Coronavirus’ guidance for shops, stores, etc can be found here. It was last updated on 25 May

Any concerns can be reported to Shropshire Council by emailing advicecompliance@shropshire.gov.uk