 Starting Monday 15 June more retail businesses will be opening up in Southampton in line with government guidance. For this week’s video message, Leader of the Council, Cllr Christopher Hammond, visited Westquay to talk about some of the preparations being made. You can watch that video on YouTube here and read on below to get the full story on how we are preparing our high street and district centres.
We continue to keep our dedicated coronavirus web pages up to date with the latest news and guidance for Southampton. Visit the central government website for the latest changes to national guidance.
Community Support Hub – we’re here to help
 Our Community Support Hub has one simple aim – to ensure that our most vulnerable residents who are shielded, self-isolating or unable to rely on family and friends for help can access the support they need at this time. We’ve helped over 1,000 people with food solutions, whether that’s directing them to volunteer groups to help with shopping, free food parcels, or referring to food banks and we’re working in partnership with Saint Mary’s Church to provide and deliver food packages to those who need it.
If your circumstances change, our Community Support Hub may be able to support you with access to food parcels, medication deliveries, social contact or link you to support in your local area such as voluntary organisations and community groups.
Please call us on 023 8083 4800 (open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm), contact us via webchat or fill in our online form.
Re-opening our highstreets safely
 With non-essential shops starting to open again from Monday (15 June), we’ve been given £225K of funding to safely begin re-opening our city centre and other districts.
We’ve brought in a range of social distancing and public health safety measures, in partnership with GO! Southampton, the city centre’s Business Improvement District (BID), including:
- defined queueing areas
- extra space to walk and cycle
- safe and convenient cycle parking
- enhanced street cleaning in priority areas
- measures to support safe re-opening for restaurants and cafes (planned for July)
- signage to promote ways to prevent spread of Covid-19.
Not all shops will be open from Monday – lots of high street shops plan to only open a few stores before reopening across the whole country. We’re working closely with market organisers to safely reopen markets in the City Centre later this month.
If you’re travelling into Southampton to visit the shops, you’re encouraged to walk or cycle – which is the safest and healthiest option and best for the environment. If you do need to use public transport, there’s ways to do so safely – see more below....
A face covering is recommended on public transport from Monday
 In addition to observing the requirements for social distancing that are in place, as of Monday 15 June, government guidance is that you should wear a face covering if you need to travel by bus, train or ferry. Exceptions to this include young children, people who have breathing difficulties and people whose disabilities make it difficult for them to wear a face covering.
Information about face coverings, including how to make and wear a face cloth covering, can be found on the government’s COVID-19 safe travel guidance web pages.
Additional guidance for passengers on public transport includes:
- Avoid peak travel times
- Allow passengers off before you board
- Wash your hands before and after your journey
- User a contactless payment method
Concessionary bus passes to be valid from 9:00am again as people begin the return to work
 Concessionary travel on Southampton’s buses will revert to the pre-lockdown start time of 9:00am, as of Monday 15 June. This will help bus operators helping to manage demand on public transport with new social distancing measures in place.
Southampton City Council removed the time restriction on free travel for concessionary bus pass holders when the national lockdown was introduced on 23 March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This allowed people of pensionable age who are reliant on bus travel to travel free at any time and take advantage of the over 65’s only 8am to 9am customer hours, which many supermarkets had introduced.
Capacity on public transport is currently limited to 25% of seats due to social distancing requirements and reintroducing the 9.00 am start time for the free bus pass will help to ensure there is sufficient space on buses earlier in the mornings for those going to work.
Information on concessionary fares on Southampton’s buses can be found on our website.
Council homes repair service back up and running
 As lockdown restrictions ease we have started the phased reopening of several housing services, including the repairs service.
This means that if you need a repair attending to at your council home, you can now report it online.
During the lockdown we were only able to carry out emergency repairs, but as the service is back in operation you can now request any kind of repair job including non-essential, urgent and emergency works.
When you submit your request, please tell us if anyone in your home is self-isolating, has been diagnosed by a doctor as having COVID-19, or has coronavirus symptoms.
Social distancing rules still apply, so we will ask you to take extra safety measures if we visit your home. You must stay two metres (about three steps) away where possible and we might ask you to stay in a next-door room and keep doors and windows open while we work. We appreciate your patience and kindly ask that you treat our staff respectfully while they are in your home.
Carers week
 We are marking national Carers Week this week by pledging to support hidden carers, raise awareness of caring and recognise the enormous contribution they make not only to those they care for, but to society. A carer is anyone who provides unpaid support to a relative, partner, child or friend due to illness, disability, frailty, a mental health condition or substance misuse problem.
To further support carers, it's now possible to upload their emergency plans on the council’s database, making them easily accessible to emergency services and adult social care, to provide care if needed. Carers are encouraged to complete the emergency plans form on the Carers in Southampton website. If you know someone who has an unpaid caring responsibility, we would recommend completing the quick and free online Carer Aware training.
If you know of anyone caring for someone that could do with a support network, Carers in Southampton, is a free service for anyone giving their time unpaid to look after a family member, friend or neighbour.
Keep Active, Stay Safe
 More and more people have been walking and cycling in and around Southampton over the past few months, with positive benefits for our roads and neighbourhoods, air quality and people’s health. My Journey, our sustainable travel programme, has a range of information, advice and support to help you make these healthy habits a part of your new norm while continuing to maintain social distancing. Visit the My Journey website to find out how they can support you to keep active and stay safe as the city starts to get moving again.
Bike Month
 My Journey and Love to Ride are inviting everyone to get involved in Bike Month throughout June. Taking part is easy - simply sign up at lovetoride.net/southampton, get cycling and log your rides to win some amazing prizes including:
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£500 local bike shop voucher – log and ride AND set a goal on your Love to Ride profile to be entered into the prize draws this Monday (15 June) and Wednesday 1 July
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£500 to donate to your chosen #BikesforKeyWorkers or Community Coronavirus Support Initiative – log a ride AND encourage a friend to be entered into the next prize draws on 15, 22 & 29 June
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Love to Ride t-shirt – cycle any time throughout the month to be entered into the prize draws every weekday in June
To register and find out more, visit the Love to Ride website – good luck and happy cycling!
Community Heritage Grants available
 Grants of between £1,000 and £3,000 are still available to enable Southampton communities to deliver activities as part of the Mayflower 400 programme. Deadline: apply anytime until 4th August, decisions are made monthly.
All Southampton residents are being encouraged to explore their heritage, as well as the heritage of their community and the city. This could be anything from a quilt that tells the story of your community in Southampton, a digital project collecting memories of your community, holding an online exhibition about the history of a faith building and its congregation, or running talks and events about heritage that is important to you.
This grant is provided through combined funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Southampton City Council. For full details of the grant please visit Mayflower 400 grants page.
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