Dodds says time to get retail up and running again.
All non-essential goods retailers in Northern Ireland can re-open from Friday 12 June, Economy Minister Diane Dodds has said.
The Minister confirmed the major step forward during a visit to Debenhams in Belfast city centre today.
Mrs Dodds said: “I am very pleased to be able to confirm that all non-essential goods retailers in Northern Ireland can re-open from Friday 12 June, subject to them adhering to the necessary safety measures and no increase in the spread of the virus.
This was considered at this morning’s Executive meeting and it was agreed that as long as retailers can adhere to the necessary safety measures, and there is no increase in the spread of the virus by Thursday, then these shops can re-open.
“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the local economy. The recovery has already begun and it is time now for the pace to accelerate. The re-opening of all goods retail outlets will be a huge part of this.
“The safety of staff and customers is of course paramount. All retailers must be able to implement measures that minimise the risk to their staff and to the people who visit their stores. We will be co-existing with this virus for some time to come so it is vital that we continue to adhere to guidance to work and live safely. Debenham’s is an excellent example of how retailers can make this work and adapt to this new normal.”
“This is a major step forward today but there is more work to do and I will continue to work to progress the recovery.”
Small businesses welcome opportunity to re-start the economy.
Newry Chamber Welcomes Decision to Open High Street Shops
Commenting on the decision to open High Street shops from Friday, Colm Shannon, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce said: “This is welcome news that all non-essential retailers on the High Street can open from Friday. Newry Chamber has been working hard to give our retailers a chance to compete fairly and this is great news. Our retailers are at the heart of our city and have invested in measures to ensure the safety of their staff and customers. We are ready to open Newry again.
“At this time, it is important to remember and thank the hard work of our Health Service. Their efforts and dedication have put us in the position where retailers can go back to work and begin to provide a service to the people of Newry and the surrounding area.
“As a border economy, it is important that we can compete fairly with other businesses on the island of Ireland and we look forward to further announcements on shopping centres and hospitality.”
Responding to the announcement that small retailers will be permitted to re-open from this Friday, as the Executive further eases lockdown, FSB NI Head of External Affairs, Roger Pollen has warmly welcomed the move as we begin to re-start the economy.
FSB Says Members Re-opening Is Music To Their Ears.
Roger Pollen, said: “Small businesses have been frustrated during lockdown to see larger businesses being able to continue to trade in products which they sell, while they were forbidden from opening. The Economy Minister’s announcement will be music to the ears of many business owners, who are eager to open the shutters and get back trading.
“FSB played our role, along with trade unions, public health officials and the wider business community, in producing the ‘Working Through This Together’ document, which advises businesses on how to operate safely. Small businesses should refer to this guidance to ensure they protect workers, customers and the general public, making adaptations as necessary, as they re-open.
“At FSB we have made the case throughout the coronavirus crisis that the criteria which determine whether a business can open should be focused on safety, rather than what you sell, or the size of your business.
“We are grateful that the Executive has recognised this principle today and small retailers will be relieved that they will soon be permitted to re-open their business, and play their part in re-starting the economy. We would also urge the public now to get behind our smaller businesses; not just by giving them their custom, but also by respecting the necessary restrictions they will have to put in place in order to operate safely.”
Retail NI Says re-opening is a major step forward
Commenting on today’s decision to set a date for the retail sector to reopen, Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “We strongly welcome this decision to reopen our retail sector this Friday – it is a major step forward for rebooting our economy as a whole. There is a long and hard road ahead for our local economy, but I have no doubt our retail sector will be at the cutting edge of this recovery.
“While we have made good progress on reopening the retail sector, we need to ensure that our high streets are safe and compliant with medical guidance in order to fully reassure consumers.
“Retail NI has written to the Executive to ask Ministers to establish a High Street and Retail Advisory Group to ensure the Executive can move forward with the safe reopening of our town and city centres alongside this retail reopening plan.
“This will no doubt involve the repurposing and reimaging of public spaces to accommodate queuing customers as well as significant changes to public transport.
“We also need a Northern Ireland Reopening High Streets Safety fund to assist Local Councils and traders to implement plans to reopen town and city centres.”
