The towns taking THEMSELVES out of lockdown

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Shops on high streets across Britain have taken it upon themselves to open up despite lockdown restrictions in an effort to revive their businesses. 

Salons, butchers, florists and coffee shops are tentatively opening their doors to customers, by coming up with their own interpretations of the government’s social distancing rules.

Under lockdown rules, which were introduced on March 23, only essential businesses like supermarkets and pharmacies were allowed to remain open, forcing millions to shut. 

However, some restrictions were eased earlier this month, allowing some businesses to reopen, provided they are able to maintain social distancing measures.  

Veterinary surgeries, pet shops, homeware, building supplies and hardware stores, garden centres, pharmacies and chemists can all now remain open, under the current rules.  

Yet restaurants and pubs, wine bars or other food and drink establishments including within hotels and members’ clubs are all meant to be closed, apart from food deliveries and takeaways. The same goes for hairdressers, barbers, beauty and nail salons, including piercing and tattoo parlours. 

Despite the softening of restrictions, the lockdown period has had a devastating impact on business, with some high street stores facing permanent closure. 

A study released last month revealed that half of the UK’s high street might not be able to reopen after the pandemic eases despite hundreds of thousands of businesses receiving more than £22 billion in three Government-backed loans from their banks to help them through the crisis.   

Apocalyptic predictions from the Bank of England and others show the UK is on track for the worst recession in 300 years, when the Great Frost swept Europe.  

Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned on Tuesday that there will be pain ‘the likes of which we have not seen’, while the respected IFS think-tank described the impending meltdown as a ‘mega-recession’ or the ‘recession to end all recessions’.

The Office for National Statistics revealed Tuesday that the number of people claiming employment benefits has soared by a record 856,500 to 2.1million in the first full month of the coronavirus lockdown – despite the furlough scheme keeping millions formally in work. 

And other figures showed that average weekly hours worked dived from 31.6 to 24.8 in the last two weeks of March, as the lockdown took hold.

In the same fortnight the numbers temporarily away from jobs spiked from 2.16million to 7.41million – reflecting some of the huge count on furlough.

It comes as the UK recorded another 363 deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the official total to 35,704. 

In other coronavirus news:

• Travel bosses warned a plan to quarantine arrivals would devastate UK businesses; 
• Families of foreign NHS and care staff who have lost relatives to the virus were granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK; 
• Justice Secretary Robert Buckland became the first senior figure to acknowledge the Government had prioritised the NHS over care homes; 
• The PM hinted he might reshuffle his top team following criticism of the Government’s handling of the crisis; n Mr Dowden urged the BBC to think again about axeing free TV licences for over-75s; 
• He also announced a ‘Cultural Renewal Taskforce’ to help get theatres, museums and other activities going again; 
• A study by University College London found more than half of young adults are no longer sticking to the lockdown strictly;
• Officials plan to give NHS and social care staff antibody tests revealing whether they have had coronavirus;
• The Bank of England was reportedly considering using negative interest rates for the first time in its 324-year history;
• Contact tracing is a tried and trusted method for controlling epidemics and has been used successfully in South Korea to keep infections at very low levels.  

Some businesses have now decided to slowly open up, with owners revealing how they are getting up and running again. 

In Alresford, Hampshire, eight high street businesses are now open, including a salon – despite the government insisting hairdressers should not yet be open.

And in Thame, Oxfordshire, the chocolatier, hardware store, florist and butcher have thrown open their doors for the first time since the lockdown started in March. 

Meanwhile in the capital, Broadway Market in Hackney was packed with Londoners lapping up the sunshine and grabbing disposal pints of beer from pubs which have opened up for takeaway refreshments. 

Mother-of-three tentatively opens up her beauty salon 

Mum-of-three Rachael Ashbee, who has run Alresford Beauty in Alresford for eight years, has now opened for collections – and is tentatively booking appointments. 

Along with using disinfectant Barbicide to sterilise her products, she has taken an online Covid-19 safety course to come up with a safety strategy in order to reopen her business.

Speaking from her shop, the 48-year-old today said: ‘We shut on March 24 and since then I have only been doing orders and other small requests 

‘Normally there are six of working here as beauty therapists but I had to furlough everyone else – I really want to bring all five of them back but it’s not quite worth it yet.

‘We have lots of regular clients who are coming back now and we are seeing business start to pick up again.’ 

She added: ‘I have rooms upstairs for manicures and pedicures so when we are back to usual we hope to have two therapists working at any one time. 

‘We will have a one-way system in the shop and because we have rooms upstairs and downstairs we will be able to social distance.’ 

She said she has started putting appointments in for July 4 – but is wary that things may change.

Sandwich shop that has adapted ‘brilliantly’ to the lockdown 

Mrs Ashbee is not the only Alresford shopkeeper desperate to reopen.

Just metres away, independent sandwich store Mange2, has begun serving coffee and groceries through its doorway.

Tessa Webb, 64, whose daughter Georgie Jeary, 41, runs the shop said they had adapted brilliantly to the crisis.

She said: ‘Everyone has been very happy they don’t have to come right in. 

‘We’ve been serving hot coffee over the table, which acts as a counter and we have just been trying to make sure we have everything and anything people need

Other shops open in the market town include butcher C E Evans and Son, Sole Butchers, Sarah’s Sandwich Shop, The Pet Shop, a Tesco Local and Wessex Pharmacies.

Chocolatier enjoying the sweet taste of success

The picture is different in Thame, Oxfordshire, where most business are closed.

But one independent chocolatier is enjoying the sweet taste of success, having reopened on Friday.  

Manager of Rumsey’s chocolaterie, Karen Lumpkin said: ‘We have opened for 362 days of the year for the past 13 years, but due to coronavirus we had to shut up shop for seven weeks.

‘We opened the shop for the first time since lockdown on Friday and it has been absolutely manic.

‘There has been no negativity from the customers, only happiness that we are back open for business. People haven’t had a proper coffee for nine weeks.’

It’s not all been sugary sweet for the 55-year-old however, who has had difficulties implementing social distancing at the shop.

She said: ‘Normally we have 10 staff working but the need to social distance means we can only have three on at any time.

‘We are only having one customer in the shop at a time and we have a clear visor up around the till to protect our staff.

‘It’s been a really tricky time but we are getting there.’ 

The florist whose phone ‘hasn’t stopped ringing’ 

In Buzzie Lizzie’s flower shop next door, Katie Virdi had completely shut off the front of the shop, only delivering flowers for special occasions and handing over ‘click and collects.’

‘The plan was just to do our funeral work which was just was considered to be the most important thing but the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

‘We haven’t advertised that we’re here, it’s just been people that haven’t seen their loved ones wanting to send flowers or sympathy flowers.’

Happy customer Jo Dinnage brought her wedding flowers from the family-run flower company 14 years ago and has been a regular customer ever since.

‘We are so happy that they are open. We’ve ordered lots of flowers for birthdays and sad occasions happen too. Sadly coronavirus has hit home, it has hit Thame but it’s great they’ve been able to open.’   

The shop dubbed ‘Aladdin’s cave’ that has ‘something for everyone’ 

Further along the cobbled high street, manager of Autoparts – a shop dubbed ‘Aladdins cave’ – Ollie Whitmore, 32, said: ‘We shut for a couple of weeks initially and reopened on lesser hours.

‘The coronavirus has been beneficial to us with everyone else being closed. We are catching the overflow and it’s been a lot busier than usual.

‘We are selling face masks, BBQ stuff, toys for the kids, gardening stuff, we’ve got a bit of something for everyone here, a real Aladdin’s cave.

‘We are getting really good feedback from our customers who are desperate for certain items and they can’t get it anywhere else.’ 

The pub owner of 30 years who is serving takeaway Belgian beer and prosseco 

While market town’s like Thame stay relatively quiet, despite the efforts of some businesses to get going again, London’s Broadway Market was packed on the warm and sunny day. 

Helen Grogan, who runs The Dove pub, is offering takeaway Belgian beers and proseccos to people wanting to support their local pubs.

She said: ‘The pandemic has been absolutely terrible.

‘They’ve closed our business down. I’ve run this place for 30 years and this is the first time we’ve ever been shut.

‘We specialise in Belgian beers so people have been coming to us since we started doing this since they eased the lockdown.

‘We’re just doing all we can to survive right now.’ 

Tracy Byrne, who runs Holistic Health Hackney, said they closed on 20 March and will reopen on 1 June to hopefully take pressure off the NHS.

She said: ‘It’s obviously been worrying and the fact there’s no end in sight is a continuing worry.

‘We are a strong business and we’ve been around for 24 years. 

‘We’ve been quietly confident that we’ll get back to how we were.

‘It’ll take a while, as people will be scared to come out, but I’m sure by 1 June we’ll be able to run limited service with four practitioners instead of the usual 30.

‘I’m hoping that, along with hairdressers and beauticians, we’ll be back in full in July.’