intu Victoria Centre has outlined how it will safely support the gradual reopening of non-essential retail stores at the centre in line with Government guidelines.
intu Victoria Centre
The plan drawn up to keep everyone who visits or works there safe includes new social distancing and hygiene procedures and more support to help brands safely reopen their stores.
Whilst unique to intu Victoria Centre, it was developed by a task force of experts from across intu who used a series of central, common principles for intu’s 14 shopping destinations across the UK as well as research carried out among shopping centre visitors.
It includes placing limits on the number of people and cars allowed into the centre at a time, with some parking bays closed, and there will be a raft of other measures including one-way systems, floor stickers and staff training to ensure visitors stay socially distanced.
Enhanced hygiene regimes that were introduced at the start of the outbreak will continue, with more deep cleaning of key areas and touchpoints like escalators, toilets and keypads. These measures have remained in place while intu Victoria Centre provides vital access to essential services such as pharmacies, supermarkets and banks during the lockdown period. Hand sanitisation stands will also remain at entrances and other locations throughout the centre for visitors to use during their visit.
And intu Victoria Centre staff will be given personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them safe.
The plan is being fully communicated to intu Victoria Centre’s brand customers who will continue to be provided with support to help them reopen safely and in line with Government guidelines, such as with queuing zones in the malls to ensure social distancing can be maintained inside stores.
Matthew Roberts, chief executive of intu, said: “intu is the biggest landlord for most of our brand customers so we have been working to help them plan the reopening of their stores as soon and as safely as they can.
“Experts from across intu have formed a specialist taskforce who have considered everything we need to run intu Victoria Centre and our other centres as safely as possible, with a series of central, common principles for the portfolio and individual plans for each centre.
“This includes working with our brand customers and providing them with all the support they need to reopen safely, as well as new social distancing and hygiene procedures to keep everyone who visits or works in our centres safe.
“We have introduced enhanced cleaning regimes and hand sanitisation stands throughout every centre, measures to limit the number of visitors and ensure they stay socially distanced once inside, and given our staff the protective equipment they need to stay safe.
“We know we cannot do this alone and everyone who visits our centres whether for work or to shop will play their part in keeping themselves and each other safe by following the official guidelines, and the instructions and safety information provided by our teams.
“Our teams have been working incredibly hard to keep our centres clean and safe during the lockdown and we are hugely grateful to them, and we would also like to thank our brand customers and visitors for all their cooperation and patience so far.”
The Prime Minister has set out:
– Outdoor markets and car showrooms will be able to reopen from 1 June, as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers. As with garden centres, the risk of transmission of the virus is lower in these outdoor and more open spaces. Car showrooms often have significant outdoor space and it is generally easier to apply social distancing.
– All other non-essential retail including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, and electronics, plus tailors, auction houses, photography studios, and indoor markets, will be expected to be able to reopen from 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines, giving them three weeks to prepare.
– Shops like supermarkets and pharmacies have been trading responsibly throughout the pandemic. Building on this and in line with the Government’s roadmap, reopening non-essential retail is the next step towards restoring people’s livelihoods, restarting the UK’s economy, and ensuring vital public services like the NHS continue to be funded.
Businesses will only be able to open from these dates once they have completed a risk assessment, in consultation with trade union representatives or workers, and are confident they are managing the risks. They must have taken the necessary steps to become COVID-19 secure in line with the current Health and Safety legislation.
