Dartford pubs, hair salons and more prepare to open again after lockdown
It's been a long wait for many businesses to welcome back customers with more than three months in lockdown.
Owners and managers in Dartford have spent the past few weeks racing to be ready for the return of punters after Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the nod for places to reopen from Saturday.
Pubs, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, wedding venues, churches, cinemas, theme parks, zoos and many other businesses are set to open, while adhering to strict social distancing rules.
There have been anxious times since businesses were forced to shut on March 23 waiting to find out when they could start rebuilding their businesses or whether they would even survive.
Pub landlord Neil Brown has been busy this week preparing for the return of customers to the Malt Shovel pub in Darenth Road, Dartford.
He has told punters to expect things to look quite different on Saturday with strict social distancing rules in place.
He said: "We are trying to offer a level of service. It is important therefore we put safety measures in place to protect our customers and staff.
"Our capacity will be reduced and social distancing will have to be carefully monitored.
"Staff will be wearing masks and gloves where appropriate.
"We are not going to allow children in toilets unless supervised by an adult."
He advised people to book a table in advance to avoid disappointment with seating available both indoors and outside in the beer garden.
New safety measures will include a revised table seating arrangement where customers' drinks will be placed on an empty table next to them to collect.
On arrival, customers will also have to register on their website to place an order at the bar with payment collected via contactless card.
And while Neil is very much looking forward to welcoming back his loyal customers he urged them to follow the rules.
"The elephant in the room is the virus is still out there," he said.
"I think there is a danger some people will think it is normal when it is not.
"Everyone has a duty of care. We want to be a place where people can come and relax and be safe."
"The good people of Dartford are reasonable people and we have fantastic customers.
"We look forward to seeing them again."
Hairdressers and barbershops have been hit hard by the social distancing rules and lockdown due to the proximity staff work with customers.
Salon 167, which has branches in Dartford and Crayford, is owned by Hannah Harrison and Hayley Carnell-Tuley.
Hannah said: "We are more than comfortable to be opening with the safe distance measurements in place. We have implemented many new rules, as you can view on our website and social media pages.
"We’ve split teams into two in Crayford so that we only have six stylists in on one day which reduces the volume of people on the premises at one time.
"We’ve got sneeze screens where needed, increased our cleaning methods, removed a chair from every other section meaning people are sitting away from one another safely. Our staff will wear PPE, screens and/or masks and we will be providing masks for clients to wear.
"We have a computer booking system so we can track and trace our clients if need be.
"It’s been hard work getting prepared to reopen, waiting lists with constant emails, social media contact from clients – all whilst we are both home schooling our children as well as looking out for our staff.
"We are putting into practice what we feel is safe for our staff and clients as well as following government guidelines.
"It’s been very confusing with mixed messages of whether we can have air con, use hairdryers etc but as many feel 'it’s the blind leading the blind'.
"We are responsible salon owners for both client and staff safety so will do as we see fit along with guidelines and we feel we are going above and beyond the guidelines."
The salon is also only allowing clients to come in once they have been called to say they are ready.
"We don’t feel it’s too soon," Hannah added. "When other businesses have opened sooner, if the right PPE and other measures are in place then we feel it’s the right time.
"We are slightly frustrated that beauty hasn’t opened but again we trust the government's reasoning for this.
"Covid has been the scariest and most unpredictable thing for any of us to deal with but as business owners we need to reopen safely to ensure future survival."
Wedding administrator Amelia Whitmore confirmed no weddings will take place at Little Hermitage, in Higham, near Rochester this weekend with the next one not planned until the end of August.
She said: "It has been difficult. We have had to change most of our weddings until the end of August and into September.
"It is an uncertain time and we have got to take advice from the council on how we can return.
"Our guidance is from the council and they will let us know what we can and can't do."
The wedding host said social distancing measures and hand sanitiser would not doubt form the cornerstone of any restart but in the absence of more specific guidance it would not be safe to proceed.
In the meantime the venue is reading the guidelines and trying to work through its backlog of guests who have had to postpone.
"We have offered all our wedding couples new dates," she said.
Many have taken up these offers she says while others just want to tie the knot as soon as possible, regardless of the numbers who can attend.
"We have one couple at the end of August. They have changed their wedding seven times so they are adamant. They just want to be married now."
Vape shop VPZ in the Priory Centre reopened on Monday after a gruelling 14 weeks closed.
Director Doug Mutter said: "It has been a long road to get the stores in a position where they are completely safe for both customers and staff, but we are now in a position to reopen.
"We are now in a position where we can have a completely contactless free process, whilst still offering advice and guidance to smokers who are looking to make the switch.
"Stop smoking services have been slashed across the country and with the stores being closed we now have a lot of smokers who are looking to quit but haven’t been able to get the help needed."
The company has removed all tester devices from the store, introduced a customer limit within stores and marked queuing lanes outside to limit contact between everyone.
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