Bedford's shopping centre reveals plans to reopen shops next week

The centre has implemented new measures to keep visitors and staff safe
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The Harpur Centre in Bedford has revealed robust plans to limit the spread of coronavirus and keep visitors and staff safe as non-essential retailers gradually start to reopen from next week.

The Harpur Centre has implemented new measures that fully integrate all health and safety guidelines detailed in the Safer Public Places document published by the Government to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for visitors and employees.

The Centre has remained open during the crisis to provide access to essential retailers such as pharmacies and food stores and has already implemented safety measures which include a

Message from The Harpur CentreMessage from The Harpur Centre
Message from The Harpur Centre

heightened cleaning regime, free to use hand sanitiser and social distancing procedures across the centre.

For customer safety, the centre has also installed clear signage, barriers, and directional floor markings to help visitors maintain a two-metre distance between themselves and others whilst visiting the centre.

If you visit the centre, colleagues will be limiting the number of customers allowed to enter at any one time, meaning some external entrances may be closed.

Visitors can bring children and other members of their household to the centre if they need to, but family groups must be kept to a minimum, and congregating or socialising on the mall is prohibited.

Message from The Harpur CentreMessage from The Harpur Centre
Message from The Harpur Centre

For increased hygiene, the centre will also be operating on predominantly contactless payments within retailers and in the car park.

There will be regular announcements on the centre tannoy to remind customers to adhere to social distancing rules and use the hand sanitiser provided within the centre.

The centre is also encouraging visitors to be mindful of maintaining good personal hygiene whilst visiting. Always catch your cough or sneeze in a tissue, dispose of your tissue as soon as possible and clean your hands as soon as you can.

All Harpur Centre staff will be given personal protective equipment to keep them safe.

The plan is being fully communicated to the Harpur Centre’s retailers who will be provided with support to help them reopen safely and in line with Government guidelines.

For full information and FAQs, click here.

Samantha Laycock, centre manager, said: “We understand that people will be cautious about returning to any public locations, and rightfully so – this pandemic has had a huge impact on our community.

"So, we know the importance of getting these measures right, not only to ensure everyone coming into our centre is safe, but that they also feel confident that their health and wellbeing is continuously being considered.

"Our centre has remained open for the duration of the crisis to provide access to essentials and we have already implemented robust plans to ensure the safety of our visitors.

“Our centre teams have been working extremely hard under huge pressure, and we are immensely grateful to them, but we know we cannot do this alone and everyone who visits our centre will play a part in keeping themselves and others safe by following the official guidelines, instructions and information provided by our teams.

"We’re making every effort to protect our colleagues and customers, and while safety is paramount, we look forward to welcoming our visitors and non-essential retailers back as they gradually reopen to serve the community.”

For more information visit the website: www.facebook.co.uk/harpurshoppingcentre.

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