‘When we come out of this there will be a proportion of businesses that won’t be open’
What lies ahead for the many independent traders of Mumbles, and what will life look like for them once lockdown is finally lifted? Katie Bellis reports
IT’S THE middle of May and the sun has been shining for weeks.
But even if the weather isn’t great, you can always expect to find Mumbles busy with locals and tourists. Until now.
Instead, the coronavirus lockdown has meant all pubs, hairdressers, beauty salons and some shops have been shut since the end of March.
For this village the virus has had a devastating impact on businesses, just like it has everywhere in the world.
When lockdown eventually ends, there’s a big worry about what the future may hold for businesses.
Chairman of Mumbles Trade and Tourism Association Paul Whittaker has acknowledged the fact that some businesses will struggle and could potentially close after the lockdown.
“When we come out of this there will be a proportion of businesses that won’t be open because they were struggling before the lockdown and this was the final nail in the coffin.
“A few businesses will close, but it’s the same across the world,” he said.
“It’s going to be a struggle for the next year, if you are a shoe shop with £20,000-£30,000 of stock and you come out of this in a different fashion season, what do you do with all that stock? So they may suffer.”
Mr Whittaker said that despite everything some businesses are still busy.
“I’ve spoken to a few of them, a lot of them have said they are still as busy as they were but in a different way.
“Instead of them being busy in the shop they are busy doing deliveries so a lot of them have taken on temporary staff.
“If they do decide to open some of the hospitality businesses at the beginning of July, it doesn’t mean that people are going to go out and use these facilities.
“A lot of people I spoke to won’t be venturing out to pubs or mass gatherings, if there are any, until the end of the year or next year because they have spent so much time in isolation that they don’t want the risk of actually catching anything.
“We are not at the end, we are at the very beginning of this.
“It could go either way and people could support local businesses and the big businesses struggle.”
Even though some businesses are still able to trade during the lockdown, others simply can’t.
Lara Johnson has owned hairdressers Lara Johnson Lifestyle for 25 years.
She has a team of 22 stylists, who are all furloughed. Lara is hoping to reopen in July.
“This year is our 25th anniversary of the salon, every month we had huge events planned for the team and the clients.
“In the early days of lockdown I was phoning clients and moving them back, then moving them back again.
“When we were first told we would be closed for the first three weeks, no-one thought it would be as long as it has turned out to be,” she said.
Lara admits that a second peak is a massive worry for her.
“Our gate to reopen is July 4, as long as the R doesn’t go back up, it’s so hard for us.
“When we do reopen, what we have decided to do is to be far more flexible with the rota and team.
“The salon will be open 8am-8pm with staff working on split shifts.
“Everything is in place to protect us and the clients.
“Already I can see that people are getting more relaxed and I can see that far more people are out now.
“To have a second spike is massively on my mind, we are definitely not over it.
“We can’t afford as hairdressers to be pushed back any further,” she added.
She hopes this will have a positive effect on the community.
“Mumbles as a community is very, very tight.
“Hopefully this will make people realise that we don’t need to go into the big shops in town.
“From a personal point of view with hairdressing I think people will want to come and get their hair cut.
“With coffee shops and restaurants people will be cautious, but I think they will want to get back out there.
“There aren’t many empty shops any more so I would like to think that after lockdown people will come back,” she said.
Gin and Juice was due to open its new bar, Oyster Wharf, on June 1.
The drinks bar, which also has branches in Cardiff, Bristol and Cheltenham, was formerly occupied by La Parrilla.
The Mumbles premises will feature Coffee Barker on the ground floor, Rum and Fizz on the mezzanine level, and Gin and Juice on the top.
However, things have not quite gone to plan.
“When this first broke we respect
ed all the details that came through from the government. As it became more clear that if you are in the building trade and respecting social distancing then a small team came back. We will be ready, Mumbles has a unique attraction and I think it will bounce back,” Gin and Juice cofounder Steve Barker said.
Mr Barker has made it clear that he doesn’t want to open with social distancing.
He added: “What we don’t want to do is open with social distancing, we are not geared to operate on half the capacity.
“How can you manage your staffing and rota? The other one was opening outside seating, the problem is we live in Britain.
“You are trading outside and it starts to rain, what do you do? Tell them to go home, which doesn’t work.
“The quality of experience you need 100%, it’s all or nothing for us. It’s much safer for these places to remain shut.
“It’s better to be safe, respect it and wait until things go back to normal.
“As soon as it goes back to normal the better, a lot of businesses are going to be hurting, staff out there are anxious and worried about their jobs.
“We will be ready to open, but it’s got to be done without social distancing or not at all.
“Commercially the biggest thing the government must avoid is forcing us to unfurlough the sector, but then the sector will have to lay off 50% of staff as they can only do 50% of the business. That’s the harsh reality.”
Last year some business owners shared their concerns about the number of empty shops in Newton Road, with some worried about the lack of footfall.
Family-run business Oyster Gallery
has been in Newton Road for 26 years and has always had a loyal customer base.
Even though the shop is shut, owner Tracey Bateman has started offering deliveries and collections, which have so far been a success.
“Everybody has adjusted their business and I think it is brilliant and it’s pushing ourselves to be more creative and we can operate virtually now.
“We are very fortunate we have two doors to the business, we are going to operate a one-way system in the gallery, we are not going to allow more than four people in at a time.
“People are going to be nervous, but I am going to do my utmost to create the safest environment for my customers and staff.”
Tracey believes the footfall for businesses in Mumbles will not be great once we come out of lockdown.
She thinks people will go to the shops but only for a purpose.
“It’s going to have an effect on every single one of us but until we come out of lockdown we just have to wait and see.
“The support from the financial point of view from the government and council has been incredible.
“I’ve got friends who work in the NHS who say there could be another peak in October; as a business we are going to prepare as best as we can for this.
“Next week I am putting all my Christmas orders through, so I am totally prepared,” she added.
Some people may be wary of venturing out once restrictions are lifted.
However, Mr Whittaker believes people are not going to stop coming to Mumbles after the lockdown.
“When things hopefully go back to whatever the new normal is, people will want to support local businesses.
“I wish I did know the answers, we try to help as many businesses as possible.
“People won’t be travelling abroad for at least a year so people will want to go local.
“Hopefully the local tourism trade will get a boost.
“The good thing is Mumbles is a gorgeous, nice place, which is going to stand out,” he said.