We’ve been out in the town centre today, and it’s good to see the proactive steps being taken by businesses as they prepare to reopen on Monday. The floor labels and signage provided by ADC has been installed in key areas, reminding people to social distance, and there will be additional BID banners and posters going up towards the end of next week.
Making your Premises Covid-19 secure
Carry out your risk assessment in line with government guidance for your business sector. This is the only thing the government has told businesses to do! This is how you show your staff and customers that you care – by assessing your individual premises and taking all the actions you can to keep them safe – both inside and when queuing outside of your premises. Please don’t underestimate the importance of this.
In a recent publication, the government stressed that “businesses should only reopen 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 current Health and Safety legislation.”
Print out your notice to show you’ve carried out the risk assessment and taken reasonable measures to reduce the spread of the virus in your business, and display it in your window for customers to see.
Update your online listings
Remember to update your social media pages, website, Google Maps, and make any changes to your listing on ShoplocalBognorRegis to let your customers know your reopening plans.
If you haven’t listed your business on Shoplocalbognorregis.co.uk yet, you’ll find the info you need here – it’s completely free to list for BID businesses: https://www.brbid.org/shoplocalbognorregis
If your business is not able to reopen on Monday
We understand that it is an incredibly frustrating time for businesses that aren’t yet able to fully reopen, and we want the first phase to go as safely and smoothly as possible so that all of the government’s criteria are met and the next phase of re-openings can go ahead at the earliest opportunity. As a BID, we won’t be celebrating “the return of the High Street” until every business is operational and operating safely.
Reporting businesses for breaching Covid-19 Restrictions
The longer the restrictions are in place, the more tempting it is to bend the rules. Over the past few weeks we’ve had numerous calls and emails from people to “report” BID businesses that are thought to be operating against government guidance. Whilst we understand the frustration this causes – particularly if you’re following the rules in your own business – the BID has no authority to intervene in what individual businesses choose to do.
If you have concerns about a business’s Covid-19 operations, please report it directly to ADC’s Environmental Health team, as it is a matter of risk to public health and safety. They are the only agency that can investigate, advise and enforce on these matters.
ADC Environmental Health:
Telephone: 01903 737755
Latest BID Newsletter
Just in case you missed it last Friday, here’s a link to the BID Newsletter detailing the work that’s been carried out by the various agencies involved in the town centre, and sharing answers to the most frequently asked questions we’ve received about reopening arrangements.
Encouraging Kindness
This is by no means a return to normal, and it’s likely that the week ahead is going to be stressful for everyone – for you as business owners trying to implement the plans you’ve made, for your staff still grappling with childcare issues, for people cautiously coming into town and adapting to the new arrangements, and for us as we monitor the situation in town as a whole and respond to any changes required.
It’s not unreasonable to imagine that everyone’s patience will be tested in the early parts of next week, so we need to take a breath, dig deep, and draw on every drop of kindness and understanding we can muster.
To help spread the sentiment, Totally Locally have produced some excellent posters with messages encouraging kindness and patience that are free to download and print from here:
Kindest regards,
Heather
Even though Clair and I are working from home, you can still contact us by email: info@brbid.org, by phone: 07917 692690 or through Zoom meeting software. The software is free to download and works across a wide range of platforms – phones, tablets, PC’s, Macs. If you’d like a virtual face to face, please invite: heather@brbid.org
Kindest regards, Heather
Heather Allen, BR BID Co-Ordinator
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