Kirklees Council has been working closely with local businesses to make sure town centres were ready to open safely this week.
After over three months of restrictions that meant only essential shops could open; cafes, bars, restaurants, non-essential retail, hair and beauty and other businesses are welcoming customers back in a safe way.
Kirklees Council has launched a multi-media campaign to encourage local people to support their town centre businesses over the coming months. The campaign which features 14 local businesses from a wide range of sectors and towns across the area aims to highlight the fantastic, friendly service that local independent businesses provide.
The adverts will appear on outdoor media, radio, streaming services, social media and search engines, and the council will for the first time me working with local influencers to try and reach a younger audience.
The campaign which is funded through the Reopening High Street Safely Fund, part of the European Development Regional Fund will last for a month starting on 12 April.
There will also be a range of physical on the ground support for businesses and customers, including Town Centre Support Officers to provide support and guidance, changes to some of our streets to make it easier for people to social distance and for businesses to use pavements for outdoor dining, and pop up hospitality spaces to support businesses offering takeaways and outdoor dining. The council has also supplied PPE to non-essential businesses and supported Huddersfield BID levy payers.
The pop ups will initially be on McCauley Street, New Street and King Street from Friday 16 April 2021.
Visitors who buy food or a soft drink from local businesses, will be able to bring it to the pop up to eat. They will be shown to a table, where they can enjoy their refreshments under cover. Due to current restrictions no alcohol can be brought into the marquee by visitors.
Government guidelines state that table service is required where alcohol is being served. Where a business is using some of the space to serve alcohol, as in McCauley Street, customers will be seated, so that the business notified can take their order and bring it back to them.
There will be COVID-safe measures in place including wearing masks when not seated, hand sanitisation, and following the social distancing and current mixing guidelines. There will be toilets and baby changing facilities on site for customers and other town centre visitors.
The marquees will be managed by Huddersfield Food & Drink Festival organisers Huddersfield Live on behalf of the council, and friendly staff will be on hand to make sure everyone uses the space safely.
David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth & Regeneration said: “We know that local businesses have struggled over the last year and we want to make sure that we do everything we can to welcome back people into our town centres safely. As we make our way through the governments roadmap, we will need to help local businesses recover. The measures we have put in place will go some way to both reassuring people that it is safe to return and removing some of the barriers that the Yorkshire climate brings to socialising outdoors. Our hospitality areas will be popping up in other towns over the coming weeks so be sure to keep an eye on our website for the latest information.“
More information about reopening retail and hospitality can be found online at: www.kirklees.gov.uk/