OVER £300k TO HELP THE BIG REOPENING

MORE than £334,000 is to be spent to implement a range of safety measures in Coventry to prepare for the reopening of non-essential retail stores.

All non-essential retailers will be able to reopen in England from June 15 as part of plans to further ease the coronavirus lockdown.

Councils across the country have been given a slice of a £50 million Reopening High Streets Safely Fund to help introduce a range of safety measures designed to kickstart local economies, get people back to work and customers back to the shops.

Coventry City Council has been given £334,000 and has already progressed with plans to pedestrianise the High Street between 9am-5pm to enable social distancing.

Other measures are also being planned to create more space around shops, moving taxi ranks and bus stops, 2m distancing signs, and providing more outside seating spaces for restaurants in areas such as Broadgate.

Cllr Patricia Hetherton cabinet member for city services said: “We have already implemented a road closure on High Street to help ensure that people can socially distance while they wait to use the banks and building societies.

“We are also looking at how we create more space for social distancing in local areas including Ball Hill, Empress Buildings and Daventry Road and we plan to remove some parking spaces to create more pavement space.”

Cllr Jim O’boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, added: “We are currently preparing a number of additional temporary traffic management schemes in the city centre to provide additional space for social distance access to shops and bus stops.

“We are also looking at ways we can support the restaurant and hospitality sector where more space might be required to meet safe reopening requirements.”

The cash, which was made available from June 1, could also be used for new social distancing signs, street markings or temporary barriers, the government has said.

Councils will also be able to use this money to develop local marketing campaigns to explain the changes to the public, with the authority proposing to spend around £180,000 on a Reason to Visit campaign.

High Streets Minister Simon Clarke MP said: “As we begin to slowly return to normality, the reopening our high streets will be key to kick-starting our economic recovery.

“Many businesses have already introduced creative ways of trading such as contactless collection or taking orders by instant messaging and shows that they are ready for the challenges ahead.

“That’s why we are providing an extra £50 million for councils to support a range of safety measures that will help get these businesses back on track and ensure that people can enjoy their time visiting their local high street safely again.”

Further down the line, pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, hotels, cinemas and places of worship could reopen from July 4 ‘at the earliest’ if they can meet social distancing measures, the government has said.