The Government is attempting to gradually ease the Coronavirus lockdown in England and under Covid-19 Secure guidelines social distancing will continue as a mean to protect shoppers and workers. One of the early changes was the reopening of garden centres such as Floral Hall on Norwood Road from 13 May as the risk of transmission of the virus was seen as "lower in these outdoor and more open spaces".
From 1 June, open air markets and car showrooms were allowed to reopen. Whilst this would seem to offer hope for the return of West Norwood Feast, Teresa Donoghue, Feast Co-ordinator, explained to the Norwood Forum that whilst a July Feast is being discussed there are a number of considerations including venue and social distancing. Traders also need to feel comfortable. Another issue is that Feast includes “events”, eg. live music, and this activity is not allowed under the Covid-19 guidelines. Feast will however again be online this Sunday 7 June as #StayHomeFeast.
From 15 June, the Government is encouraging other non-essential stores in England to reopen. This includes shops selling things like clothes, toys, books and electronics, as well as tailors, auction houses, photography studios, and indoor markets. Hopefully this will mean we see outlets such as the Roseberys auction house on Knights Hill and Goodways Electronics on Dalton Street return.
Hairdressers, nail bars etc will reopen “no earlier than 4 July”. This is in line with outline plans for some cafes or restaurants with outdoor space, places of worship and socially distanced cinemas. It is unclear when the West Norwood Picturehouse and Library will be reopening but in the meantime the library is offering a fantastic choice of online activities. Our Events listing has a host of other activities for you to do online.
The reopening of pubs and live venues is still uncertain. Local pubs have not been serving takeaway draft beer etc but some have diversified – e.g. The Hope with its excellent Sunday roast dinners, and The Great North Wood and The Rosendale cooking food for vulnerable and needy people. 4 July is the earliest pubs will be able to reopen, but yesterday Youngs announced the beginning of August as their target reopening date. In the meantime, draft and packaged beer can be collected or home delivered from Canopy Beer Company and Bullfinch Brewery, and packaged beer home delivered by Gipsy Hill Brewery and London Beer Factory. Hopefully the great uncertainty for this sector will end very soon.
The latest Station to Station newsletter sets out detailed information on how businesses can trade and reopen safely, which should give you confidence to shop locally.
If you would like to hear Teresa Donoghue of Feast and Charlotte Ashworth from Station to Station discussing the current situation with Feast and the Norwood Road then visit the Norwood Forum’s Community Conversation at 3mins 50 secs and 10mins 0 sec respectively on the Norwood Forum Facebook page here.
