- Temporary measures to make socially distanced shopping easier
extended
- Longer opening hours for retail to help spread footfall and
ease transport pressures
- Extension on flexible working hours for construction also
announced to ensure ongoing safe operation of the construction
industry.
Opening hours are to be extended to help people stay safe when
non-essential shops re-open after lockdown is eased, Communities
Secretary MP has announced today (25 March 2021).
Today’s measures will help millions of people return to our high
streets by spreading footfall, easing transport pressures and
make socially distanced shopping easier by giving shoppers
greater flexibility to choose when they shop and avoid peak
times.
Councils have also today been encouraged by Communities Secretary
MP to support continued social distancing measures on
their high streets and to relax planning rules where possible to
ensure social distancing can continue in both construction and
retail.
The measures extended today also include:
- Flexible working hours for the construction industry to
ensure the ongoing safe operation during the pandemic. Longer
working hours will help promote social distancing measures in the
wider community, for instance by reducing pressure on public
transport. Construction work will take place at a reasonable
time. These measures will now be extended until the 30 September
2021.
- Relaxations to delivery restrictions for supermarkets and
other retailers up to the end of lockdown to help them to
continue to provide home deliveries to those who are shielding.
These measures follow on from the announcement to give pubs and
restaurants more flexibility to erect marquees to help increase
seating capacity in a Covid-secure way.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon MP said:
To support businesses to reopen and recover, I’ve extended the
measures we introduced to allow shops to stay open for longer,
pubs and cafes to serve more customers outdoors and
construction sites to work more flexible hours.
These changes provided a lifeline for many businesses over the
last year – protecting jobs, reducing pressure on public
transport and supporting people and communities to continue to
visit their high streets safely and shop locally. This
extension will support businesses to reopen as we Build Back
Better from the pandemic.
