What measures are being developed to safely re-open town centres in Northumberland

Draft proposals to safely reopen town centres as lockdown eases are being finalised by Northumberland County Council.
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Town centres are expected to get busier again from Monday, June 15 when coronavirus-related restrictions on the opening of non-essential shops are lifted.

However, the Government has made it clear that social distancing guidelines remain in force, and that both inside shops and in all outside areas such as pavements and street crossings the public must maintain a two-metre distance from one another.

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Coun Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for environment and local services, explained: “In Northumberland, the layout of shopping streets, particularly in some of the older towns, does not make social distancing easy, with narrow pavements and limited queueing space.

Alnwick town centre.Alnwick town centre.
Alnwick town centre.

“But if the retail market is to recover people must feel confident that they can visit town centres safely, which will require some simple temporary adjustments to the way that town centres operate.

“We’re doing our best to ensure we’re supporting all our high-street businesses while at the same time keeping residents safe - which is our absolute priority.”

The county council has initially focused on its 12 larger towns to establish what measures could be put in place to ensure the safe movement of pedestrians, while still allowing for shops to receive deliveries.

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Work is also progressing to look at the shopping areas in some of the smaller towns and villages.

Queen Street in Amble.Queen Street in Amble.
Queen Street in Amble.

Measures include notices reminding people about social distancing, advisory one-way signs for pedestrians in some areas, working with traders to remove unnecessary street advertising boards on the pavement and liaison with town and parish councils to relocate any street furniture that is causing a problem.

A range of other potential next steps have also been identified as options that could be considered at a later stage to create additional pedestrian space for social distancing purposes, if this is required as the towns becomes busier.

These include the temporary suspension of some on-street parking / loading areas, and even the use of temporary one-way traffic systems and pedestrianisation of some areas, if it proves necessary to create more pedestrian space to ensure public safety.

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These potential next steps would only be brought into effect following further dialogue with councillors, town councils and businesses.

The council is also looking at providing ‘community ambassadors’ for the first few days of reopening to provide a visible presence, offering friendly support and guidance.

Coun Sanderson added: “We must stress these are simple, short-term measures and aren’t intended to replace the long-term regeneration plans for our town centres which are being developed.

“Discussions about longer term plans, which may include considering traffic flows and possible pedestrianisation of some streets, along with cycle and walking initiatives in line with our climate change action plan commitment, will continue with councillors, residents and businesses.

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“And while any change can be difficult and bring a certain level of disruption we hope people will understand it’s in the interests of their safety as well as crucial to get our businesses up and running.”

The Northumberland Gazette is running our #supportlocal campaign calling on people to help their local businesses to get over the lockdown.

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