This is what Derbyshire Times readers think about easing the lockdown

Our lockdown survey, published across this title and 150 other JPIMedia titles across the UK last week, has had a great response.

It gives an insight into how the coronavirus crisis has impacted people in Derbyshire and what they would like to see happen in the coming weeks and months.

In total we asked readers 25 questions on their attitude towards the lockdown.

Of these questions five focused on how lockdown restrictions might be eased - and today we can reveal how people in Derbyshire answered.

The majority of Derbyshire Times readers who completed our survey said they felt concerned – 44 per cent ‘very concerned’ and 35 per cent ‘slightly concerned – about going to public places such as shops, bars, restaurants and cinemas once lockdown is eased.

By comparison, on a national level, 41 per cent answered ‘slightly concerned’, 37 per cent answered ‘very concerned’, 12 per cent answered ‘not very concerned’ and 10 per cent answered ‘not at all concerned’.

Of those who took part in the survey, the majority of Derbyshire Times readers said visits to family and friends should be given the highest level of priority when restrictions are eased, with 65 per cent putting this at the top of the list.

We also asked people which of the following - garden centres, DIY stores, fast food restaurants, takeaway coffee chains and electrical stores - they would be most keen to visit if they were reopened in the near future, with social distancing measures in place.

Most respondents said they were keen to visit garden centres, with electrical stores receiving the least number of votes.

When asked how well they thought the UK Government had handled the coronavirus crisis, 15 per cent of Derbytimes Times readers said ‘very well’, 38 per cent said ‘quite well’, 20 per cent said ‘not very well’, while 23 per cent stated ‘not well at all’.

The national average, by comparison, was 12 per cent for ‘very well’, 34 per cent for ‘quite well’, 24 per cent for ‘not very well’ and 28 per cent for ‘not at all well’.

When asked how clear the UK Government’s lockdown guidance had been so far, the tables were tied – of the Derbyshire Times readers who took part in the survey, 32 per cent responded ‘very clear’ and 32 per cent said ‘quite clear’.

The national average on this issue was: 30 per cent said ‘very clear’, 35 per cent said ‘quite clear’, 22 per cent said ‘not very clear’ and 14 per cent said ‘not at all clear’.

During the course of this week we will be publishing more results of what local people had to say in our lockdown survey.

A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper. Thank you. Nancy Fielder, editor