Small signs of normality returning to our town centres ahead of shops reopening

While the high streets are still quiet, there are small signs of a return to normality since the Prime Minister announced his 'roadmap' to end the lockdown a fortnight ago.

While the shutters remain firmly down on most shops in our towns and cities, pending a possible reopening next month, changes to the guidelines have already paved the way to many businesses reopening, be that fully or at least partially.

One of the major changes to the guidelines was the ruling that garden centres and plant nurseries can now open, along with agricultural supply stores.

The rules for opticians remain unchanged, meaning that they are still open for emergency and urgent problems, but are not carrying out routine eye tests or general sales of spectacles and contact lenses. Some dentists are also operating on an emergency-only basis.

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Pharmacies are still allowed to open, even if they do not dispense prescriptions, but many have introduced strict regimes to control the spread of the virus.

Connor Hunt, of Lunt's Pharmacy in Hereford Road, Shrewsbury, says all staff wear full protective clothing, including gloves and a face mask.

“The official guidance is that we need to wear it during face-to-face contact with patients, but in reality it is just too time-consuming to keep putting it on and taking it off, so we wear it all the time,” he says.

The shop also has policy of allowing only two people inside at any one time, while there are markers on the floor to ensure people keep the correct distance.

While Superdrug in Dudley is not a dispensing chemist, it has introduced strict rules on the number of people allowed in the shop at any one time, leading to queues across the market place.

There are some grey areas – dry cleaners and laundrettes are allowed to open, but there is no advice about clothing alteration shops. Star Tailors, which has branches in Wolverhampton and Dudley, operates in both sectors, and would presumably be allowed to resume its dry cleaning operations, but not the tailoring side of the business. At the moment its doors remain shut.

In theory, clothing retailers are supposed to be closed during the lockdown, although the clothing departments at many of the large supermarkets are trading as normal.

By contrast, many Marks & Spencer's foodhalls are open for business, but most of the clothing departments are closed. A sign on the door of the branch in Dudley Street, Wolverhampton, says: "We have a small selection of clothing and homeware essentials in store", adding that the full range can still be accessed on the company's website.

'Click and collect'

Yours Fashion, in Wolverhampton's Mander Centre, is closed at the moment, but a sign in the window is promoting a 'click and collect' service, where customers can choose their clothes online and pick them up at the city's Asda branch.

B&M Bargains in Dudley Street, Wolverhampton is open, although there is tape preventing people from entering two of the aisles at the front of the store. The chain's store in the Trident Centre, Dudley, is fully open, although there are restrictions on the number of people allowed in and there are sometimes long queues stretching as far as the High Street.

Convenience stores, post offices and newsagents are allowed to open, and nowadays an increasing number of shops combine all three of these roles. However Caroline Jones, who runs Abbey Foregate main post office in Shrewsbury, has decided to close the convenience store part of the business, while keeping the post office open. She operates a strict 'one in, one out' policy.

Hairdressers, nail technicians and tattooists are still not allowed to open – given the intimate nature of their work, they will probably be among the last to be allowed to do so. TZ in Queen Street, Wolverhampton, normally provides hair weaves, extensions and wigs. But while the shop is closed to the public, it is offering a text-ordering service to people who are short of products.

Many businesses are adapting the way they operate to serve customers in a different way.

While lockdown rules mean that the Little Dessert Shop in Wolverhampton can't allow people in for a sit-down meal at the moment, it is still operating a takeaway and delivery service.

The reopening of Britain's pubs looks unlikely for several weeks at least, but many of them are adapting to the challenge.

Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory in Tipton, famous for its 'Desperate Dan' cow pies, has reopened to provide a takeaway service, while the Pheasant at Neenton, near Bridgnorth, has started delivering meals to people's homes.