Many shops in Keswick are gearing up to reopen on Monday 15th June in line with government guidance, followed three days later by the return of the town’s scaled-down twice-a-week market.
The number of stalls will be reduced from around 80 to fewer than 30 and there will also be a new lay-out to help shoppers adhere to two-metre social distancing rules when the market resumes trading on Thursday 18th June.
The new lay-out, which will also apply to the Saturday market, will see a single column of stalls at the bottom of Market Square, with others on either side of Moot Hall and a double row at the top end.
Government rules allowed open-air markets to resume from 1st June but Allerdale Borough Council, which took over the one in Keswick from private firm Geraud this month, agreed to delay its return until after shops had opened at the request of town councillors.
“We need to start getting back to normal,” said Cllr Alexandra Boardman, who runs a women’s clothing shop in Pack Horse Court, which will re-open on Monday but by appointment only. It not yet clear how many other non-essential shops in Keswick will take advantage of the first opportunity to resume trading after the government-imposed lockdown in March
“Everyone is looking forward to opening but it is going into the unknown. It could be that Keswick hardly gets any visitors as they still can’t stay over, so there should only be locals and day-trippers, but I am concerned that the town could be bombarded, especially on market days. We don’t want it to get mobbed but no-one knows if it’s going to be quiet or busy,” added Cllr Boardman.
Members of the town’s Shopwatch group have been communicating in advance of the official re-opening date, with most taking the first opportunity to resume trade, but others adopting a staggered approach. They will hold another on-line meeting two days later to update. “Quite a lot are going to open on a trial basis with reduced opening hours to see how things go,” said Cllr Boardman.
Only essential shops, including food stores and chemists, have been able to remain open during lockdown. Bryson’s Bakery in Main Street had chosen not to trade but will re-open on Saturday 13th June.
