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Safe return to retail in Arun is underway

Safe return to retail in Arun is underway

Return to retail Shoppers have been returning to their favourite stores over the past week as Arun’s high streets start to spring back to life.

With a change in government guidance allowing more shops to open from 15 June, Arun has seen residents visiting high streets, village centres and shopping parades.

Retailers selling non-essential items including clothes, toys, furniture, books, buckets and spades and jewellery, were able to open again as long as they followed guidelines.

Community Information Officers have been on hand in Littlehampton and Bognor Regis High Streets to office advice, support and signposting.

Our retailers have worked hard to ensure that the safety of their customers and staff come first and have put in place measures to keep Covid-secure standards.

In Littlehampton, the general Friday Market returned on Friday 19 June in St Martin’s car park. The Artisan Market will return on Saturday 1 August in Manor House car park.

Councillor Dr James Walsh, Leader of Arun District Council and Cabinet Member for Economy said: “We were delighted to see the public return to retail last week in a controlled and sensible manner. Showing respect and kindness for shop staff and fellow shoppers is a key factor in ensuring that social distancing can be observed and that queues are kept to a sensible size.

“Supporting our local shops and business is vital to provide our local economy with the boost that it needs and we’re doing all we can to help retailers to put in place the changes needed to make their businesses safe for shoppers and staff. I would like to say thank you to all those who are ‘shopping local’ and for their continued compliance with the government social distancing requirements, and also offer a reminder that government advice is to stay at home as much as possible and to only make essential journeys. We know that the rules are changing on a weekly basis, but the advice to ‘Stay Safe’ remains the same.”