Back to business - a message from Cllr Lucille Thompson, Leader of Winchester City Council
BACK TO BUSINESS
A message from Cllr Lucille Thompson, Leader of Winchester City Council:
This weekend will see our district’s centres liven up as more businesses reopen. We’re all keen to support our local economy after such an extended period of closure, and at the city council we’ve been at the forefront of making sure all the measures that can support you when you are out and about are in place.
But, we still have to take care of ourselves and others, so let’s all respect social distancing to allow all of us to experience our wonderful towns, villages and city centres with confidence. I hope many of you are able to enjoy our places, support our businesses and feel confident in returning.
It will take a little patience from us all, but knowing our district, it will be well worth it…
Helping you to support our local economy
Cafés, bars, restaurants and pubs are just some of the businesses that are opening their doors again from tomorrow. You’ll see that we’ve been making some changes to help our local economy to get back on its feet.
- Tables and chairs are being delivered to high streets across the district to give more of us space to enjoy a meal, drink or a chat outside.
- In Winchester we’re temporarily closing Great Minster Street to vehicles from tomorrow at weekends to enable socially distanced trading.
- If you haven’t been out and about yet, you’ll see signs supporting social distancing - and look down for prompts on the ground to help pedestrian flow and queue spacing too.
- The friendly faces of the city council’s Neighbourhood Wardens and Winchester BID Rangers will be on hand to support local people.
Bit nervous? Read through these tips before going out
If you’ve got some concerns about venturing out as our district opens up, here are some tips that might help:
- If an area looks busy, take a turn around one of the local parks or green spaces that are in reach of all our centres and come back a little later.
- You may wish to bring your own hand sanitiser for peace of mind.
- Some parking meters require button pushing – using a pencil or wearing gloves might help you if you are worried - sanitise afterwards if you have any concerns.
- If you’re using the outer ring car parks (thank you, we’re encouraging this as part of our carbon reduction plan) do remember a face covering for travelling on the Park & Ride buses.
- The public toilets are open and there is social distancing guidance to support users.