‘There is a lot going on and it’s really boosted
AS THE summer sun shines down, bright colours burst into view as you enter the High Street. Yellow, pink, red and purple flowers sit outside Pound Stop, alongside a variety of household items including sweeping brushes.
The shop, with a sign outside promoting a special offer on two litres of fresh milk, is right in the middle of Merthyr Tydfil’s town centre.
From here, you can stare down the length of much of the High Street.
Just days before today’s new lockdown measures come into force, Merthyr’s town centre is not exactly quiet when we visit on Friday: there are still people out and shopping.
Some wear face masks, some sit on benches in the sun, others awkwardly try to keep their distance while moving around.
Jewellery store Pandora’s shutters are down, the white of its frontage brighter than usual in the sun.
There is a menu in the window of popular Woodfired Pizza & Kitchen, but you can’t see through the rest of the window.
A polite hand-written notice in blue ink in a shop window reads: “Due to social distancing, only three customers allowed in shop.”
Barclays Bank has colourful banners hanging in its window, which say: “Stay home, save lives”.
Pubs and bars lie empty and dusty, with beer taps visible and shining in the sunlight.
A lot of the businesses in the town centre have something in common: their shutters are down and their doors are closed.
They have been for some time, and this will be mirrored in towns and cities up and down the country during lockdown.
But not all doors are closed. Key workers are still heading out to work every day, to help serve people food and vital supplies, and keep their businesses afloat.
One shopper we spoke to, who didn’t want to be named, said she was a regular visitor to the town centre, even in lockdown.
Despite the high footfall in lockdown conditions, she said she thinks the town died years ago, and as people move to shop online due to the virus, this will be the final nail in the coffin.
But independent shops, it would seem, have never been relied upon more, with many offering deliveries and going out of their way to help their customers.
Chris Jones is the owner of Pet and Garden Centre, on Victoria Street, less than a minute’s walk from the High Street. It has been a family-owned business for 72 years.
Chris said the town has been much busier over the past nine weeks, as people move to shopping local.
The 48-year-old has worked in the shop, which was once owned by his grandfather, since he left school, and helped out on the weekends before that. His daughter now works there, too.
He believes one of the reasons people have been shopping at independents has been because of a lack of traffic wardens.
“When they pedestrianised the towns it did a lot worse than good, but now there are more people driving here again, popping in because they can leave their car outside.
“People can park anywhere and no one is booking them, and we are busier because of it.”
Chris says even with shorter trading hours, the business is surviving well.
He is hopeful people’s shopping habits can dictate changes for the future, and hopes the local authority will consider opening more of the central shopping streets up to cars when things get back to normal, whenever that may be.
Like many local businesses, Chris has started to offer delivery services for customers who are shielding and can’t get out themselves to stock up.
Another one to do just that is Crosswoods, a deli opposite Pet and Garden Centre.
Established in 1929, it’s one of the oldest independent businesses in the town, and can normally be found with a queue out the door on a busy Saturday afternoon pre-lockdown, with people wanting to pick up their favourite pasties, pies, cakes, cooked meats, a freshly made baguette or salad, or a Sunday dinner.
Crosswoods’ manager said they have gained new customers as a result.
“We started doing deliveries and found that people wanting them hadn’t been to us in years, maybe because they’re elderly and can’t get to town.
“But we are open as usual but people are in and out, and there are only three customers at a time.”
They added that most of the staff have been put on furlough, and the family-run business is running on as few staff as possible, but with an increased footfall.
“Especially over the last two weeks, our deliveries have started to come down but footfall has gone up.”
At the beginning of lockdown, their delivery service started to expand from their usual shop offerings, and they found themselves sourcing items for customers that they couldn’t get hold of anywhere else.
“The community spirit has been brilliant, other traders are checking in on each other and it has really shown people are relying on their local businesses.”
Customers aren’t just important to the success of a business: Pauline Jones, who works in Mary’s Bakery, says they are treated like family.
The bakery, also on Victoria Street, sells everything from bread to classic sweet treats. The women in the shop are dressed in Thank you NHS T-shirts.
Pauline said: “Some days we are busy and some days we are not, it all depends. We do little orders for people who are isolating and can’t get out. You get a good day, you get a bad day. You just take it as it comes.
“The customers are absolutely amazing. They come in, they say what they want, have a little chat, say how
I just want to see the shops open again like normal, it feels strange the shops being shut and you can’t go in where you want to
I have to self-isolate because I’m diabetic but I’m fed up of sitting at home and looking at four brick walls, it’s just horrible