Brighouse business urges 'now is the time to shop local'

Queues of socially distanced shoppers as Brighouse businesses re-open. Picture: Steven Lord.

To help get the economy back up and running, the Government allowed the re-opening of non-essential shops on June 15.

Shoppers were out in Brighouse from Monday with numbers gradually increasing throughout the week.

Saturday was particularly busy with shops reporting good business levels. People were happy to obey the social distancing rules and sanitise their hands as they entered shops.

Steven Lord, owner of Lords Photography and the Harrison Land Gallery, was particularly pleased.

He said: “We put in a lot of work getting PPE in place and making sure our shops were safe places to visit but even then I had no idea whether customers would return.

“However, I need not have worried.

“Right from the re-opening on Monday we have been busy. People have spent three months in lockdown and were very relieved to be able to go out shopping.”

Most shops re-opened this week apart from cafes and bars which can only offer takeaways.

Steven added: “Now is the time to shop local. Brighouse will soon return to the thriving town centre it was before lockdown if the local community supports us and I’m sure they will.”