TRADERS have mixed feelings about Government plans to reopen large numbers of shops from June 15.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said retailers selling clothes, furniture and other non-essential items may reopen from mid-June if they follow health guidelines.

Only hairdressers, beauty salons, and hospitality businesses will have to remain closed from then on.

But some Brighton businesses are more confident than others when it comes to reopening.

Martha Le Roy, owner of houseware store Utility in North Road, Brighton, plans to open on June 15.

The Argus: Utility owner Ms Le Roy said she would not take any staff off furlough for the time beingUtility owner Ms Le Roy said she would not take any staff off furlough for the time being

But she will not yet remove staff from furlough as she does not believe demand at the shop will be high.

“I don’t think people will be queuing outside,” Ms Le Roy said.

“Some people are really not worried about visiting while others are keeping everybody at arm’s length.

“It won’t be worth un-furloughing any of my staff. I’m thinking of just opening in the afternoon to start with.

“What I’m thinking of doing is controlling the number of people who can come in, I’d probably only allow two in at any time.

“But if someone gave me the choice of opening now or closing for another two months and having Covid gone completely, I’d choose the latter.

“I’ll try opening and if it doesn’t work I’ll stop and wait again.”

She questioned how social distancing would be possible in the tight streets of North Laine.

“Kensington Gardens is very narrow,” Ms Le Roy said.

“It will be interesting to see if the council does anything here.”

Husband Adam, who owns vintage clothing shop Jump The Gun in nearby Gardner Street with brother Jonathan, is more sceptical.

“It’s very unlikely we will open on the 15th,” the 54-year-old said.

“It’s unclear whether people should be trying on clothes in our shop.

“If you’re in a large clothing shop there’s plenty of space, it’s almost self-service. You go in looking for a medium T-shirt and you find it.

“In our shop people usually don’t come in knowing what they want so they might try on six shirts.

“Here you don’t know if something will fit you unless you try it on.

The Argus: Jump the Gun owner Adam Le Roy questioned how running his clothes shop would be possible under current Government guidanceJump the Gun owner Adam Le Roy questioned how running his clothes shop would be possible under current Government guidance

“People usually spend a long time in the shop, but we’ll have to limit the number of people in here.

“I might have to put someone on the door and leave people waiting outside.

“It’s a really difficult call.”

Government guidance states fitting rooms should be closed “wherever possible”.

And it advises isolating items for 72 hours if they have been tried on or returned.

Mr Le Roy also questioned whether it was worth taking staff off furlough when shoppers’ confidence is still unclear.

“A lot of people still won’t use public transport and won’t want to travel into Brighton,” he said.

“We’re going to play it by ear.”

The Argus: Mr Le Roy has run the shop with brother Jonathan for 28 yearsMr Le Roy has run the shop with brother Jonathan for 28 years

Other shops are going all out with social distancing measures.

Antique shop Snoopers Paradise in Kensington Gardens is kitting out all staff with masks and aprons for the June 15 reopening. And it has installed perspex glass at its counters and two-metre markings on the shop floor.

“We don’t know whether people will come but there’s only one way to find out and that’s opening by the doors,” a spokesman for owner John Thompson said.

Most major retailers have so far been silent on whether they will open come June 15.

Primark said its stores will be closed “until further notice” while H&M has not yet made a decision.

And it is not known how many retailers in Brighton’s Churchill Square shopping centre will reopen.

The Argus: It is not known how many shops in Churchill Square are set to open on June 15It is not known how many shops in Churchill Square are set to open on June 15

Shops will only be allowed to reopen once they have filled out a coronavirus risk assessment. But these assessments will only be inspected if a council or public body launches an investigation into the business.

Brighton and Hove City Council said its officers will visit businesses not adhering to health and safety advice “on a targeted intelligence approach”.

“Officers are investigating breaches to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020,” a spokeswoman said.

“This includes a step enforcement approach of advice, warnings and, if required, formal action.

“It’s the business’s responsibility to complete and carry out a risk assessment.”

The Government warned businesses which do not properly protect staff and customers could be fined or even jailed for up to two years.

  • At The Argus, we are championing the work of traders during the coronavirus pandemic as part of our #BackingSussexBusiness campaign. We are always interested to hear how the community is coming together in this crisis. If you know of a local business battling to do all it can in these tough times and/or offering support to the local community, please get in touch at laurie.churchman@theargus.co.uk and rose.lock@theargus.co.uk.