English garden centres finally get permission to reopen
English garden centres will be allowed to open from Wednesday says Government.
The guidance for England from the Cabinet Office now says, ‘Food retailers and food markets, hardware stores, garden centres (from Wednesday 13 May) and certain other retailers can remain open.’
Garden centres in Wales opened today but Scottish garden centres must wait as Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear that there were no immediate plans for any such moves north of the border.
The Horticultural Trades Association says ““We have sought urgent talks with the Scottish Government to ascertain when a date will be set for the reopening of garden centres in Scotland as soon as safely possible. The current situation will confuse the public and put the Scottish horticulture industry at a disadvantage to the rest of the UK. We have made the same case to the Northern Ireland Executive.”
Safe trading guidance
The HTA has been leading the campaign to re-open garden centres and has published a safe trading guidance, which covers all aspects of how garden centres can re-open while ensuring staff and customer safety. It can be downloaded from this page.
It says, “As an industry, our responsibility is to now work together to deliver a reopening programme safely and responsibly.”
To see the Government statement, see Item 3 of https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing#businesses-and-venues.