Christmas shopping surge as South Yorkshire leaves lockdown
Around sixty shops at Meadowhall are extending their opening hours
Last updated 2nd Dec 2020
Christmas shoppers have sprung into action across South Yorkshire today as the four-week national Covid lockdown came to an end.
It means non-essential shops across the county have reopened for the first time since early November.
But Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster head straight into Tier 3, the highest level of restrictions in the new tiering system.
Darren Pearce is the Centre Director of Meadowhall - he says it's going to be busy there...
"It is a key time of the year of course in that busy run up to Christmas when everybody's getting their Christmas shopping on board.
"We have a certain capacity that we operate at the centre - that number's around 10,000 which for a big centre like ours is not a huge number. Ordinarily at this time of the year it'd be pretty much twice that number.
"We're anticipating there's going to be big demand all the way through now until Christmas. But the good thing about Meadowhall is it's got very long trading hours."
New relaxed trading laws are allowing many shops across South Yorkshire to extend their opening times to cater for the increased demand in the run up to Christmas.
Around sixty shops at Meadowhall are opening for longer, with Foot Asylum and Primark even staying open through the night tonight.
Darren says there's plenty of time for people to get their shopping done:
"People shouldn't panic. There are still three weeks' run up to Christmas. If I was giving a tip to someone I'd say shop after six because it becomes a bit quieter then, especially with the store opening hours being extended, you have that opportunity until a bit later in the night to get what you need.
"Be aware that we're operating with capacities so you may be in a queue getting in, you may be in a queue getting into a retail unit. Unless you're exempt you need to wear your mask, only come with your own household and if you're buying some food you'll need to take it home."
Although the retail sector is opening back up, the new tougher Tier 3 rules mean all hospitality businesses are having to stay closed.
Theatres, cinemas and soft play centres are also banned from opening their doors.
Ian Wild's the Chief Exec at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield:
"We had been looking forward to reopening so much. It felt like a real blow that we can't open. And we're feeling a little bit angry as well I think - we've done so much work to make sure we have got a safe venue. And whilst we were open we had lots of feedback from our customers saying how safe they felt within the venue.
"It seems a little bit absurd to me that cinemas, theatres and galleries are not allowed to reopen in Tier 3 but gyms, shops, nail bars and hairdressers can reopen. We're equally as safe as any other place."
With coronavirus rates still falling across South Yorkshire, and Sheffield's now under 200 per 100,000, there are real hopes the county could make it out of Tier 3 before Christmas.
The first review of England's new tiering system is due on 16th December.