Blue Diamond To Reopen Garden Centres On Wednesday

Blue Diamond has announced it will open its garden centres as of Wednesday 13th May. The full statement follows:

We are pleased to announce that from Wednesday 13th May, all of our Garden Centres will reopen, in line with current Government guidelines which were issued on gov.uk on Monday 11th May.

Our garden centres will operate in a ‘Covid-Secure’ environment to keep both you and our colleagues safe. We all have a responsibility to ensure that we are acting safely and responsibly, at all times, and staying alert.

In order to facilitate our reopening, we will be putting the following measures into place:

• We are limiting the number of customers in our shops at any one time in line with the Government’s guidance on social distancing. We are very grateful for our customers’ support during this time of uncertainty.

• Both our baskets and trolleys are still available for customer use, and we are providing facilities to sanitise your basket or trolley between customer use.

• We urge all customers and colleagues to follow Public Health England’s advice on handwashing. This remains the recommended preventative measure from PHE.

• Where possible, we’ll create separate entrances and exits to our stores, so that it’s easier to keep a safe distance from other shoppers. Our colleagues will help to manage queues.

• We are introducing signage in all shops to ensure customers keep two metres apart when queuing at checkouts and welcome desks and reminding customers of the two-metre social distancing rule while you are in store.

• Our colleagues and customers' wellbeing are our top priority, and we have taken extra measures to protect them both by installing protective Perspex screens on our tills to provide more protection between our customers and colleagues.

• We may have fewer checkouts open to maintain social distancing for our colleagues and customers.

• We are encouraging our customers to shop in a cashless and contactless way to prevent unnecessary contact.

• Stores are being encouraged to prioritise emergency workers as well as Blue Light cardholders when allowing customers into the store. This includes all social care workers, first responders, St John’s Ambulance staff, and Age UK volunteers, amongst many others. All customers will need to provide a valid ID card or document that proves they work for the relevant service.

Garden centre opening times will remain as normal for the time being and any changes to these will be published on our website.

You can find details of our measures and plans at https://www.bluediamond.gg/covid
*Excludes Le Friquet in Guernsey which remains closed and offering a home delivery service.

Source : Insight DIY Team and Blue Diamond

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