Caerphilly county borough council will make local town centres a safe space for shoppers as Wales prepares to get back to business over the coming weeks.
The authority is also encouraging residents to ‘shop local’ by temporarily waiving charges at town centre Pay and Display car parks until the end of the year.
“We anticipate that the First Minister is likely to signal the reopening of some shops and business premises and we want to make sure that our town centres are prepared to welcome back shoppers in a safer and more sustainable manner,” said Cllr Philippa Marsden, Leader of the council.
“We want to send out a clear message that our town centres will be open for business as soon as we get the go-ahead and we are encouraging the whole community to support retailers to help them recover from this very difficult time for the local economy. I’m sure our decision to offer temporary free parking will also be widely welcomed and provide a real boost for businesses,” she added.
The council will implement a range of measures in town centres to help limit the spread of coronavirus. This will include new signage, social distance markings, ‘one way’ pedestrian routes where appropriate and other arrangements to encourage the public to look after their own health and wellbeing by maintaining social distancing.
“We will engage the relevant Town/Community Councils and the local ward Councillors to discuss these proposals in more detail, but we need to move quickly to ensure plans are in place ahead of any relaxation of the current coronavirus restrictions,” said Cllr Sean Morgan, Deputy Leader of Council. “As soon as the First Minister indicates that we can reopen our high streets, we want to ensure our towns are ready for business. We will now endeavour to implement these changes as soon as possible.”
Civil Parking Enforcement will recommence across the Caerphilly county borough this week. Parking will be free at all council-owned pay and display car parks for the rest of the year, with the reintroduction of charges planned for January 2021.
