Chief executive hopes all Piece Hall businesses will be open by end of July

The Grade I listed Piece Hall, which opened in 1779, is home to dozens of independently-owned businesses, ranging from cafes and restaurants to record shops and clothes shops, that have been forced to close due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But the chief executive has called on members of the public to help support the companies by coming out to to visit them when they do open up again.
“We know that the community have really missed their beloved Piece Hall,” she said, “but we wanted to ensure that when we re-opened the building we could do it safely.
“For those reasons, we decided to implement a phased re-opening from June 15, with some stores operating by appointment only, to allow us to test our systems and enable those who wanted to re-open then to do so.
“You won’t see all of the traders opened up on July 4 for a variety of reasons - but we hope to have everyone phased in by the end of the month.
“In these worrying times, safety is our number one priority.
“The measures we have put in place have allowed us to make sure our tenants, staff and visitors can enjoy The Piece Hall with confidence.
“We were recently awarded a Visit England ‘Good to Go’ Covid19 Safety Certificate which demonstrates that we are adhering to or going above and beyond Government Guidelines.
“For now, a maximum of up to 2,000 people will be permitted entry into the building at any one time and we will only be opening two gates – the North Gate will be the entry point and West Gate will be the exit point. 
“It will be a very different experience for visitors and shoppers for some time, so we ask you to have patience and understand why we need to operate in this way.
“Please adhere to our one-way system and social distancing measures to ensure yours and others safety.
“The system has been designed and challenged by industry experts who have been advising the Government on safe working practices.
“We look forward to welcoming you all back to your Piece Hall and I wish our traders all the very best for re-opening.
“Please support our traders and local businesses – they are going to need you in these uncertain times.”

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