Goodbye lockdown, hello high street!

Goodbye lockdown, hello high street!

$Ilfracombe town centre with words welcome back$

You can soon return to the town centre to #EnjoySafely

It's been a long few months of lockdown, but the wait is almost over and WE CANNOT WAIT!

From 12 April, high street businesses in the district's towns and villages will be throwing their doors open and welcoming you with big smiles (beneath their masks)!

Together with North Devon Council and town councils, our local businesses are busy putting measures in place to ensure we can return and take advantage of the retail and hospitality opportunities on offer in a safe way.

So what is being done to enable you to go back to the high street to #EnjoySafely...?

Clean-ups are underway!

Man in orange high vis painting bollard in town centre

Efforts are underway in our towns and villages to get them shipshape in time for the big reopening.

In Barnstaple, staff from North Devon Council, Barnstaple Town Council and Barnstaple Town Centre Management have been painting bollards and benches and cleaning bins and lamposts to get the town centre looking fresh.

Thanks go to AAM Window Cleaners for their help too!

Our 'place makers' are back

Shoppers in Barnstaple may notice friendly people acting as 'place makers' around the high street in the first few weeks after lockdown measures are eased.

The place maker role was developed by North Devon Council as an additional safety and support measure in the fight against Covid-19. Their responsibilities are to be a presence in the high street, answer questions and provide a friendly reminder to the public and businesses to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines to help keep everyone safe.

Place makers were in place in Barnstaple before the start of the third lockdown around the Christmas period and were a great addition to the high street. We look forward to welcoming them back.

New signage is in place!

You may notice some fresh new signage on your way around the towns. The signage will remind you to 'distance socially, spend locally, enjoy safely', which happens to be the Live Love Local motto!

Look up to see the new lamppost banners we have brightening up the high street and welcoming residents and visitors to our towns.

Bollard with Live Love Local branding outside of Green Lanes shopping centre

Let's work with our businesses to stay safe

Our businesses have been working so hard to get through the pandemic and are continuing their efforts to make and keep their premises Covid secure.

When you come into the town centres you'll find hand sanitising stations in the doorway of many businesses. They may also have limits on the number of people allowed in their premises at one time and some may have a one way system or queuing system for busier periods.

Please support our businesses by showing patience and respect for the rules they have put in place to keep us all safe.

Tune into The Voice on Monday...

Barnstaple Town Centre Manager and part of the Live Love Local team, Hannah Harrington will be chatting to local radio station The Voice FM on Monday 12 April at 12.20pm.

Tune in to hear what Hannah has to say on the exciting day that our town centres are kicking back into gear after an incredibly long and difficult year.

Take part in the UK High Street Survey

Has the pandemic changed how you feel about your town centre and what you'd like to see on offer?

Can you spare five minutes to complete this survey? It's a national survey to register people's feelings about town centres but results will be available locally as well as nationally so it will really help our wonderful local businesses as they re-open.

Complete the survey

Thank you!