Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Back in business as
It was back to business this week as shops forced to close by the Covid-19 pandemic were finally allowed to lift their shutters. Reporters Gerry Warren and Jack Dyson spoke to customers and retailers adapting to the ‘new normal’
Droves of shoppers descended on high streets across the district as shops opened their doors for the first time in three months – with many waiting more than an hour to spend their lockdown savings. Bargain hunters made a beeline for Whitefriars favourites Zara, Fenwick and Primark in particular, which had customers lining Rose Lane before trading started at 8.30am on Monday. Meanwhile, relieved town centre traders in Herne Bay and Whitstable reported brisk business. Hundreds also flocked to Sturry Road to browse popular chains Sports Direct and TK Maxx, with queues for both stores snaking their way down Stour Crescent.
Shopper Stephanie Maxwell, 41, told the Gazette: “I’ve been queuing for about an hour and a quarter to get into Sports Direct.
“I haven’t missed shopping at all – and I’m not really relishing this either. “It’s just nice to be able to treat the kids and the husband.”
In Whitefriars, one shopper, 75, described the quiet city centre as “creepy” as she queued to get into Boots before its 9am opening.
“I think people are frightened to come in; I’m frightened,” she added.
“I don’t think I should be coming to Canterbury very often at the moment. It’s so deserted; it’s not really come to life.”
But as the morning progressed, growing numbers visited the shopping precinct.
Customers had to navigate their way through the one-way system in Whitefriars Street and Gravel Walk and were also regularly reminded to keep two metres apart by recently-erected signs. As she waited outside Fenwick, 60-year-old Pauline Hughes said: “I’ve missed shopping a lot; I love shopping and clothes.
“It’s just so nice just to be able to go out and get back to doing something normal again.” Meanwhile, staff at Waterstones in Rose Lane are placing books that have been handled by customers into 72-hour quarantines.
The strategy relies on shoppers putting the publications onto a trolley for employees at the Rose Lane retailer to wheel away.
Elsewhere, at County Clothes in St Margaret’s Street - which opened on Tuesday - staff are wearing freshly-washed masks and will only allow a maximum of three customers inside. The menswear retailer’s manager, Richard Head, says the shop is also running personal shopping appointments for those wanting “the store for themselves”.
And workers at St Margaret’s Street jewellery shop A Simmonds are wearing visors, only allowing two customers inside at a time and carrying out hourly cleans.
Manager Tony Wade said: “We’ve been busy. We had a queue of people outside all waiting to buy gifts for themselves, batteries, etc, so it’s been steady start. “We’ve got visors, screens up by the till, hand sanitisers for customers to use and we’ve got a machine that cleans jewellery which we use to clean items after they’ve been tried on.
“We don’t know how it’s going to affect us – I don’t think anybody will know for a few weeks.”
Independent stores along the coast also eagerly opened their doors on Monday to shoppers equally enthusiastic about visiting them.
But shopkeepers were also adopting safety measures, with hand gels at the door, limits on the number of customers in stores at any one time, counter screens and social distancing signs once inside.