Weymouth businesses call for roadmap ‘balance’
The government needs to foot the bill asking shops to shut for longer, according to locals.
Last updated 23rd Feb 2021
Businesses in Weymouth are calling for balance from the government following the unveiling of the Prime Ministers road map out of lockdown.
Weymouth Chamber of Commerce says the cautious and slower approach to easing lockdown may create more certainty but doesn’t solve businesses financial issues.
The road map provides the earliest dates when certain parts of society can reopen, but your long locks and scraggy manes may have to wait a while before they get snipped; hairdressers, salons and other close contact services can’t reopen until 12th April at the earliest.
Nicki Cattel owns Changing Grooms Hair and Beauty Spa in Weymouth. She has refitted her salon to make room for social distancing and is frustrated she still can’t reopen.
She’s warning that other businesses like hers won’t be able to cope with another month and a half:
“For myself, luckily I’ve always been very good with money and I’ve always saved, so I should be safe.
“I know there’s going to be a lot of businesses out there that aren’t. I know some self-employed hairdressers that have fallen through the loophole and they’re not getting any support at all.”
She added:
“I’ve had a full salon refit to make it COVID-safe even though I can’t even open, so that does seem a bit of a waste of money but it does look lovely.
“I’m sure it will have a good purpose and our clients will appreciate the comfort when we can reopen again.”
The new national measures spell a move away from the tier system employed late last year.
Craig Oakes is the President of Weymouth Chamber of Commerce. He said:
By being a little bit more cautious and stepping back and thinking about things, rather than just running in to things and getting things done because we feel we need to get things open… well we’ve then had lockdown straight after.
“We’ve said from the start that you need to have a long term strategic plan and hopefully this will mean that we don’t have a further lockdown.
“I think they’re being a bit more cautious now about how they do things and yes it will be a financial problem, I can imagine, and I think it’s got to be carefully balanced really.”