Changes are due to come into place in the centre of Grimsby to help the high street reopen safely on Monday 15 June.
Following the relaxation of some of the Government’s lock-down measures, work has been ongoing to look at various pinch-point areas of the borough to provide people with enough room to circulate safely and enable them to follow social distancing guidelines.
With the non-essential retail shops being allowed to open from 15 June, plans, drawn up by Engie, working with the council, have now been released for the pedestrianised centre of Grimsby.
Cllr Stewart Swinburn, Cabinet member for highways, explained: “We have a duty of care, as a council, to try to make sure there is enough room for people to circulate. It’s clear that though Victoria Street South and the Riverhead are quite wide, open spaces, we do need to put measures in place to help people social distance and encourage shoppers to feel safe when they visit the high streets.”
The temporary changes in detail:
- Temporary barriers will be installed in Riverhead Square to help Freshney Place manage the queues to enter the shopping centre
- Vehicle access to the pedestrianised area of Victoria Street South will be restricted between 10am and 4pm so that the space is available for people to circulate and to help manage queues.
New signage will be installed to encourage social distancing across all these key shopping areas to help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 between customers.
Additional work is also being done alongside the physical space changes to help traders reopen their premises. Initially, the council’s regulatory services team are offering advice on how to create a COVID-secure premise, with posters available now from www.nelincs.gov.uk/business-support. A campaign to encourage people to shop locally will also be launched in the coming days.
The work has been supported by monies from the Reopening the High Streets Safely Fund and from the Department of Transport.
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