High street back to life as lockdown lifts
Shoppers flocked back to the centre of Maidstone this week as large swathes of the economy finally reopened following the latest lockdown. Non-essential retailers, pubs and restaurants with outdoor seating, hairdressers and gyms - all are once again able to welcome back customers after months of enforced closure. Bev Palmer, daughter Rebecca Winter and granddaughter Lily Winter arrived at Primark in Week Street at 8am to beat the rush and were delighted to see no queues - although by 9am people were waiting in line outside the clothes store.
The family shopped for summer outfits and were planning to head to book store Waterstones after that. Rebecca said: “It’s been really nice, we’ve really been looking forward to it.”
At the bookshop in Fremlin Walk, lead bookseller Catherine Osbourne said regulars of 15 years were among some of the shoppers on the first morning trading resumed in person.
“We had about three or four people waiting in a line when we arrived,” she said.
“We had one little girl, she ran into the door this morning she was so excited to go in. Her mum said it was the only shop she wanted to come to.
“We have had a lot of families, what with it being half term, a lot of people looking to get their children back into books. Children are very tactile, they want to be able to pick a book up before buying it.”
Dennis Edwards was one of those waiting for a haircut in Union Street on Monday morning, one of many looking forward to a trim of his lockdown locks.
The 80-year-old said he is delighted non-essential shops are reopening, adding: “It’s good that everything is getting back to normal again.”
Liam Shepherd was at the front of the queue at Adam’s Barber on Week Street on Monday, before returning to work in a pub.
The 18-year-old, who works at The Brenchley, said: “I need a haircut before I go back to work. I have been on furlough for the past four months, but I’m going back this week.” Outdoor seating at pubs and restaurants was in high demand at lunchtime as people celebrated the latest easing of lockdown.
The latest step on the government’s roadmap for lifting pandemic restrictions saw friends, families and co-workers stop for a drink or bite to eat at venues across the County Town.
Such was the eagerness to get back to in-person socialising that some people had even taken the day off work specially for the occasion.
Joy was not confined to customers, owners and staff of hospitality businesses have been hard hit by the on-off restrictions of the past year and there was delight that doors are now open once again.
There were queues outside town centre pubs, including The Brenchley, where a steady stream of drinkers waited patiently for a spot in the outdoor seating area.
Eddie Haywood, 49, had booked time off work to visit the Brenchley with his 26-yearold son, also Eddie.
“I thought I am going to come back and support our pubs,” the father said.
“You can forget about work, it’s a bit of normality, have a few jokes, it’s what you want.” Pals Carl Butler, Otis Fellows and James Sandison had also taken the day off work for a pub crawl around Maidstone, starting the The Brenchley. Carl said the pub trip was
“emotional” for the friends of almost 20 years, while Otis added: “We have missed it so much.”
While a lot more is now possible after this week’s easing of restrictions, social distancing rules still apply, so
businesses have had to work hard to make sure they are Covid secure.
The rule-of-six or two households limit for meeting outdoors also remains in place. For one salon in Maidstone, this week was not only a time
to celebrate the easing of lockdown restrictions, but also its first ever day of trading. Simon Best, 40, has spent the last four weeks preparing the finishing touches to Space SB in Union Street, a new salon which doubles up as a
VIP space for people to feel pampered while they wait for their haircut.
Mr Best, who lives in Rochester, set up the businesses after years of working in salons as a way of saying thank you to his loyal
customers.
He added: “It’s not a traditional salon, it’s a bit different.
“We have a seating area with a TV, a coffee station and a place for customers to have their back massaged while
they are having their hair shampooed.
“Out of the disaster of Covid I’ve created something special.”
The salon is in a converted loft space above the Hairy Bear barber shop.