Guidance for businesses reopening

Retailers will introduce a range of measures designed to keep their staff and customers safe. These will vary between shops but some of the changes you can expect to see include:

• sneeze guards (plastic screens) around each till point
• staff wearing PPE such as - visors, masks & gloves
• shops asking customers to use different entrance and exit doors
• one-way systems inside shops with arrows on the floor to direct customers
• social distancing signage when entering a shop
• removal of displays to create more space and help to maintain social distancing
• provision of hand sanitiser and a request to use it when first entering a shop
• restrictions on touching goods or trying on cloths or shoes
• encouragement to pay contactless and not use cash.

The spending limit for contactless card payments was increased from £30 to £45 from 1 April 2020.

During the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent social restrictions that were introduced, many people developed a greater affinity for their community and felt a deeper sense of belonging to the place they call home. Local businesses are an integral part of our communities and now more than ever they need our support.

The Council is encouraging the use of two hashtags #ShopLocal, #ShopSafe to encourage people to shop locally now that Welsh Government has lifted restrictions on non-essential retail shops.

To promote a return to our town centres please consider posting a photo on your social media channel of your reopened shop and its staff using the hashtags #ShopLocal, #ShopSafe as a way to welcome people back to our town centres.

It will be up to individual shops to decide how they can facilitate customer requirements to try on goods such as shoes and clothes whilst balancing the need to take steps to prevent the virus spreading.

No. The evidence remains clear that the most effective way to protect yourself and others from infection is to follow social distancing rules, avoid touching surfaces and your face, and wash your hands regularly.

Face coverings are not a substitute for these measures, but in some circumstances where it might be difficult to stay 2m away from others, we are advising the use of three-layer, non-medical face coverings.

To provide any protection to others, face coverings need to be made, worn, handled and disposed of in a certain way. Unfortunately, many of the home-made masks being worn offer little protection to the wearer or those around them. The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum of three layers in a face covering.

From Monday 27 July 2020 it is compulsory to wear a face covering on public transport in Wales. Find out more about the requirement to wear a face covering on public transport in Wales.

Yes, since the restrictions were introduced, many local businesses have begun trading online, offering a home delivery and also a click and collect service.

A distance of two metres should be maintained between any persons.

From Monday 22^nd June 2020 non-essential shops in Wales are permitted to open again, as long as physical social distancing can take place.

In practice, this means that retailers in our town centres will need to consider how people can queue outside their premises and still maintain a social distance.

Bridgend County Borough Council has set out some points to guide retailers in their social distancing measures.

• Each retailer will need to manage the queuing requirements and system outside of their own shop.
• Retailers are permitted to place 2m spacing markers along the frontage of their shop to aid social distancing. The markers and any queues should not impact on an adjoining property
• The Council’s preference is for eye height markers to be placed along the frontage of the retail/business unit
• Any markers retailers place on the highway should not cause a slipping or tripping hazard to the public, should be temporary in nature and consist of a suitably textured product.
• Please note that any markers placed on the highway will remain the liability of the proprietor.

Although Welsh Government has permitted retail businesses to open, there remains a number of business that are still not permitted to open.

Find out more about the latest guidance published by Welsh Government.

Bridgend County Borough Council has set out some points to guide retailers in their social distancing measures.

• Each retailer will need to manage the queuing requirements and system outside of their own shop.
• Retailers are permitted to place 2m spacing markers along the frontage of their shop to aid social distancing. The markers and any queues should not impact on an adjoining property
• The Council’s preference is for eye height markers to be placed along the frontage of the retail/business unit
• Any markers retailers place on the highway should not cause a slipping or tripping hazard to the public, should be temporary in nature and consist of a suitably textured product.
• Please note that any markers placed on the highway will remain the liability of the proprietor.

Although Welsh Government has permitted retail businesses to open, there remains a number of business that are still not permitted to open.

Find out more about the latest guidance published by Welsh Government.

Some businesses in Bridgend County Borough have undertaken a Covid 19 Awareness Course provided by Bridgend County Borough Council to best prepare their premises to receive customers and this is ongoing. You should also see a Training Certificate displayed inside the premises indicating who undertook the training.

For further details please contact employability@bridgend.gov.uk or call 01656 643428

The toilets in John Street are managed by Porthcawl Town Council. At present the facility is closed but the Town Council are actively exploring how the facility could be adapted and reopened in line with Welsh Government guidance in relation to Covid-19.

Temporary facilities are currently in place in Mary Street Car Park, open daily 10.00am to 4pm.