Chesterfield council working with town firms and shopping centres ahead of June 15 reopening

At the end of May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said non-essential retailers – including clothes shops – could open their doors again from June 15 with the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

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Chesterfield Borough Council has now confirmed it is working with local firms and the Pavements and Vicar Lane shopping centres to offer assistance ahead of that key date.

The assistance includes establishing what support they might need to manage queues both within and outside their stores in terms of barriers, signage and floor markings.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, the council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, urged people to support local businesses.

She said: “Throughout the pandemic, it has been great to see people’s commitment to shopping local when buying their essential goods.

“As we progress with our phased reopening of the town centre and more shops and market stalls start to return, I would encourage residents to continue to support our retailers and traders wherever they can.

“Shopping local will help to restart Chesterfield’s economy and also reduces the number of miles people travel to buy essential goods such as groceries, which has a positive impact on our environment.”

Chesterfield’s general market reopened this week and the town’s popular flea market is set to return on Thursday.

Coun Sarvent added: “It was great to welcome our regular market traders back to the town’s general market on Monday and we look forward to seeing more of our regular traders return on Saturday.”

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