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Council Support for Reopening Businesses

12th June 2020

With many retail stores preparing to open their doors next week, Lancaster City Council is on hand to support them with their preparations.

From Monday (June 15) more businesses and non-essential retailers will be allowed to reopen as part of the government’s road to recovery.

To help them to do so safely, Lancaster City Council has developed a package of measures so business owners have the confidence to reopen in a manner that is safe not only for customers, but for their staff and themselves.

The council has uploaded a collection of documents to its website on the safety measures that need to be in place, including guidance on queue management and a coronavirus risk assessment.

There are also details of grants on offer, general business support and specific advice for food businesses.

Council officers will also be out and about from next week, visiting businesses to gather contact information and carry out a brief “health check” to see how they are coping and to offer specific advice.

Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox, cabinet member with responsibility for sustainable economic prosperity, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on retailers and the business community as a whole.

“With more now preparing to open we want to be able to support them to do so in a way that ensures everyone remains safe. We’ve had a number of discussions with the Lancaster and Morecambe Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) about re-opening and the council has access to limited external funding to pay for measures that enable safe trading in public places.”

Discussions are also ongoing with traders on Lancaster’s Charter Market as to how it can reopen safely, taking into account the government’s current guidelines, with the ambition to get it up and running as soon as possible.

The advice and guidance for businesses can be found on the city council’s website at Lancaster.gov.uk/coronavirusor by contacting [email protected].

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