Leading the way... The town trading for nearly 900 years
HIGH Streets will be back in business a week tomorrow and retailers in one of the country’s most historic towns are ready to take a lead.
Traders have been working in Saffronwalden since the bustling town was granted a market charter in 1141 – so they know a thing or two about recovering from the occasional setback.
Unity is key, according to the retailers who have agreed a common set of guidelines.
They include the same core opening hours, from 10am to 3pm, to provide visitors with the best possible experience.
Retailers have also embraced the new social distancing rules and changed store layouts to keep customers and staff safe.
Hayley Attridge, 55, the owner of Blue, a ladies clothes shop in King Street, has been impressed by the way her fellow retailers have agreed to work together after discussions onwhatsapp.
She said: “Most stores are doing the same hours so people visiting the town will know that when they come they will find everything will be open.”
Fashion shops have agreed to restrict the number of people inside, but each has their own way of helping customers.
Shoppers at Blue who buy without trying clothes on will be given a seven-day refund guarantee.they will also be allowed to try on clothes in a changing room but will be limited to three items they are genuinely interested in buying – as any not bought will then have to be quarantined in a store room for 72 hours.
The shortened opening hours will also allow shoppers to book
the items our high street shops were not allowed to sell through forced closure.
They still need to do their bit, pay fair taxes and contribute more – and I hope the Johnson government will now give serious consideration to how we can ensure a more equitable retail playing field.
As part of this conversation the Government needs to think long and hard about a wholesale reform of business rates.
Short-term rate relief to help the retail sector recover is individual appointments before 10am and after 3pm.
Mother-of-three Hayley, who has managed the boutique since 2011, added: “I want to utilise the hours outside our agreed trading times to allow people to come in by themselves and shop, as there are bound to be people wary of coming out at first.”
Nearby in Church Street a baker has already had a successful taste of life under restrictions.
Megan Channock has been running Minimissbread with husband Jeff since last May.
As a food business they could have stayed open during lockdown but decided to close as they did not want to tempt people out of their homes for the luxury of their sourdough loaves and their fresh cinnamon buns.
Megan, 40, said: “When we made fresh buns we had long queues down the street and did not think this was responsible.
“Now everyone is better at queuing safely, so this won’t be a problem.”
The couple built a hatch across the entrance of their small shop and reopened on Saturday mornings three weeks ago.the
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welcome but it does not replace the need for fundamental change.
Reform should include reduced rates for new and expanding businesses and 100 per cent relief for public sector organisations.
These could include NHS facilities or further education colleges which bring their services down to vacant high street storefronts.
We also need to consider that returning to normal doesn’t mean returning to the status quo. High streets were struggling before coronavirus hit and will continue to response was incredible.they sold all their 150 loaves of bread in an hour – and had to close.
Cafe culture will also make a tentative return to the town. Bicicletta, a bicycle-themed cafe, has been selling takeaway coffees for the past two weeks but only two of its 16 staff have been taken off furlough for now.
Manager Pete Moore is hoping to bring some more staff back if cafes are allowed to serve customers on tables outdoors from later this month but will only open for longer hours when office workers return. He may also benefit from plans to temporarily pedestrianise the town. Sharavickers, from the town’s Business Investment District, said: “Saffronwalden is a lovely quaint town with small shops in narrow streets.we want to pedestrianise the town centre so people can safely step into roads to walk past queues of shoppers on pavements.”
Many of those shoppers are likely to be attracted back by the longest-running family business in the town – homeware store Angela Reed, which opened in 1880.
David Reed, the fifth generation at the helm, is implementing a one-way system at the shop, as well as an antique store he owns – which presents slightly differient issues.
He said: “We can’t really sterilise an 18th century chest of drawers, so we’ll be asking people to clean their hands when they come in.”
do so once it has passed unless major reform is forthcoming.
In my view, reform should be about the make-up of high streets. We need to think about how we create sustainable town and city centres, introducing not only more public services but also housing.
Town centre accommodation allows people to live close to places of work as well as local stores fighting for survival.
On public services one thing the pandemic has highlighted is the health disparities between
communities. Local health services such as walk-in and scanning centres will help address this, particularly in less affluent areas.
Ultimately however, these longterm aspirations must be complemented by a short-term revival.
Ahead of the Government’s official reopening date next week, shops are busy doing everything they can to make themselves safe.
If they can achieve that customers will have the confidence to return, marking a symbolic start of our journey to normality.
UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls told BBC Radio 4’stoday programme: “At two metres you are receiving 30 per cent of your normal revenues, at one metre it gets up to 70 per cent – so it is the difference between success and failure for many of those businesses. They will need support if two-metre social distancing is in place.
“If that is what the science says and if that is what our public health needs, that is what we will maintain.we just need to have the additional Government support to make that workable.”
Added support through grants, loans ORVAT cuts may be needed, it has been suggested.
Reopening of venues is expected to begin from
July 4 in England and the Government is expected to publish its guidelines on how pubs, restaurants and hotels can begin to welcome customers again soon.