GARDEN CENTRES FACING FINANCIAL RUIN IF THEY HAD STAYED SHUT THROUGHOUT PLANTING SEASON

QUEUE gardens could be in abundance tomorrow as Atherstone's green-fingered army of horticultural enthusiasts breathe a huge sigh of relief with the reopening of its leading retailer.

Dobbies garden centre opens its gates to the public tomorrow morning after a 50-day hiatus as coronavirus lockdown measures brought trading in the UK to a virtual standstill.

Store bosses says that safety of workers and customers is the number one priority with social distancing measures brought in to coincide with start-up again of the Nuneaton Road, Mancetter centre operation.

Limited numbers of customers will be permitted in the store at any one time and a queuing system in operation outside the stores, with two-metre markers in place to help maintain social distancing.

Hand sanitising and trolley cleaning stations will be available at all store entrances.

Protective Perspex screens have been installed at tills and customers will be asked to pay with card or contactless, where possible.

Appropriate personal protection equipment has been provided staff who will also receive training and regular briefings on how to keep themselves and customers safe. Rigorous daily hygiene routines will continue throughout the store.

Restaurants and soft-play areas will remain temporarily closed, but Dobbies is planning to offer a takeaway menu including hot and cold drinks, soups, toasties, panini and selected bakery items from this Friday.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: "We have taken care to ensure we are following guidance provided by the Government, British Retail Consortium and Horticultural Trade Association to reopen responsibly.

"Our team is well prepared, social distancing measures are in place and we look forward to welcoming customers back into our store in Atherstone and across England."

Measures in place for reopening all 54 of the retailer's English stores include:

• Limiting the number of customers in store at one time;
• Queuing system will be in operation outside the store;
• Two-metre markers will be in place inside and outside of the store;
• Hand sanitising and trolley cleaning stations will be available at the store entrances;
• Protective screens at the tills;
• Customers asked to pay by card or contactless if possible;
• Appropriate PPE has been provided for staff;
• Team members will receive training and regular briefings on how to keep themselves and customers safe; and
• Rigorous daily hygiene routines throughout the store.

The green light for a green revolution comes in National Vegetarian Week. Without Sunday's 'easing' address to the nation by Boris Johnson, many garden centres like Dobbies faced financial ruin if they had remained closed through the three-month planting season. The roads through and around Atherstone looked much busier today with visible signs of a reawakening – with more people walking the streets and much heavier traffic on the main vehicular arteries. This came as the Prime Minister played down suggestions there could be a "sudden big flood" of people heading back to work on 'wake-up Wednesday' as he set out the Government's "road map" for easing the coronavirus lockdown. He said the measures – including encouraging those in England who were unable to work from home to return to their jobs – were "baby steps" as the spread of the virus eased. However, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland pointedly refused to follow the lead of the Government at Westminster in dropping the "stay home" message in favour of "stay alert". Mr Johnson acknowledged ministers were putting forward a more nuanced message, but said he believed the public would use their "common sense" as they entered the next phase. "Everybody understood roughly what to do in the first phase and it's by applying common sense that I think we will be successful in this second phase as well," he said. He added: "I don't think any of us expect that there is going to be a sudden big flood of people back to work. "I think a lot of people will now start to think whether they fall into that category, whether they could think about going back to work. The changes, foreshadowed by the Prime Minister in his broadcast on Sunday, will also see in addition to garden centres reopening, people will be allowed outdoors for unlimited exercise in pursuits such as tennis, golf, lawn bowls and basketball. However, they must keep two metres away from other people and only exercise with their own household. Mr Johnson said people in England would also be encouraged to wear face coverings in enclosed places, such as in some shops and on public transport. The chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, said the changes reflected the fact that social distancing measures in some form would be required for an extended period. As the country takes it first steps to easing seven weeks of restrictions, the delayed imposition of the coronavirus lockdown led to a high death toll, a leading expert has said. Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman said the Government followed public opinion rather than shaped it in the early days of the outbreak, before announcing the measures on March 23. But Sir Lawrence, a leading expert in strategic studies, insisted the Government achieved its objective of not having the NHS overwhelmed, however, the threat to care homes was not given enough attention. In an article for Survival, the journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, he wrote in his assessment of the UK's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in March: "With Government following rather than leading public opinion, a graduated approach was abandoned. "The collective effort to suppress the spread of the coronavirus began before Government announcements and had an effect before March 23. "After March 23, the measures enjoyed wide public support and compliance was good. "The Government met its main target. The NHS was not overwhelmed. Yet the death toll is high. "One reason for this, hard to quantify, was the delayed moving to lockdown. "Another was simply that London is a global city and Europe's largest. "But it is now clear that while preparing the NHS for an influx of cases, the threat to care homes was not only given insufficient attention, but even aggravated. "The initial advice may have fitted the Government's preference to avoid the social and economic costs of more stringent measures, but it is always the responsibility of ministers to interrogate advice and also to read movements in public opinion, in this case becoming anxious and impatient with half-measures." Department of Health figures show that a total of 32,415 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, up at least 350 from 32,065 the day before. However, the number of deaths involving Covid-19 that have been registered across the UK currently stands at 33,021. This includes 29,710 deaths that occurred in England and Wales up to April 24 – and which had been registered up to May – according to the Office for National Statistics. The figures from NHS England show that a further 3,964 hospital patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 died between April 25 and May 10 – which, together with the total figure of 33,021 registered deaths, suggests the overall death toll for the UK is just under 37,000.