It has been great to see more and more people coming into the town centre to support our local shops and businesses.
The positive vibe on the first day of the re opening of the town centre has continued, with the numbers of shoppers gradually increasing throughout the week as they become more confident about leaving their homes and visiting the town centre.
While there were a few initial teething problems with the social distancing measures on the first day, as everyone got to grips with the new pedestrian systems, these were not serious and we are continuing to keep the measures under review.
Lenterns Butchers is one of essential town centre businesses which has been working safely throughout the pandemic and owner Mark Harvey is delighted to see other businesses re opening to customers.
“It is fantastic to see life coming back to our town” he said. “I have noticed an uptake in business since last Monday as more people are coming into the town centre to do their shopping. Keep up the good work”.
‘Totti’, Penzance’s own independent pizzeria, is another local business which has seen an increase in customers during the past week and is now planning to extend its opening hours.
“We will now be open Monday to Wednesday mornings for coffee, and will be serving pizza and our usual takeaways on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays from this week” said owner Paddy.
The next phase of the Government’s Covid recovery roadmap is expected to come into force on 4 July. This is likely to involve the re-opening of some pubs, cafes and restaurants, subject to social distancing conditions. We are working with partners to identify how we can create more outside space for these businesses to operate. This is likely to involve looking at pedestrianising some parts of the town centre. We have been liaising with Cornwall Council’s highways team on developing specific proposals for consideration.
“The Town Council has been working closely with other members of the Penzance Covid Recovery group to ensure that we can respond appropriately as the Government relaxes its lockdown restrictions ” said Penzance Town Councillor Jonathan How. “It is vital that we work together to make the town centre as safe as possible. We have learnt a lot over the past week and are taking these ideas forward to ensure that we are ready for the next phase of the journey. “
The Government is also expected to make an announcement on the 2 metre social distancing rule later this week. As it is likely that the distance will be reduced we are looking at how this will impact on the social distancing measures which are currently in operation in the town centre.
“Our priority remains the safety of everyone who lives and works in Penzance.” said Penance BID Manager Jess Morris. “ Our plans will continue to be based on guidance from the Government and NHS England and we will be working with all our partners, including Penzance Business Improvement District (BID), Safer Penzance, Police, Penzance Council and Cornwall Council, and Penzance and District Tourism Association (PDTA, to ensure that all our shops and businesses are operating safely. “