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With Northern Ireland preparing for another lockdown, Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said: “Let’s be clear: we are not facing a high streets crisis any longer, it is a high streets emergency.
“We need immediate action by the executive to directly support our high streets as they struggle to adjust to Covid-19.
“That is the reason Retail NI successfully lobbied the executive to establish a high streets taskforce, to ensure a co-ordinated approach across government, councils and business to identify solutions and start the long road to build back better.
“The executive needs to immediately convene the taskforce and to devolve regeneration powers to local councils to give them greater responsibility to repurpose and reimage our town centres.”
Roberts also criticized the financial support scheme for impacted businesses unveiled by the government’s finance minister. “It is disappointing that this scheme offers no effective help to those businesses in retail and the wider supply chain which will have to close as a result of a loss of trade, footfall and consumers.
“The closure of hospitality will be a hammer blow to our local high streets and we need the executive to step up and assist businesses who are impacted. We hope that the executive will go a lot further than this limited scheme.”
In the organisation’s presentation to the Northern Ireland Assembly communities committee yesterday – as hospitality operators prepared for today’s lockdown – Roberts said: “We need to move beyond focusing on the economic problems of Covid-19 and start to focus on the solutions and ask ourselves what does success look like for the post-pandemic high street?
“While it will get worse before it gets better for our high streets, the important thing to remember is that it will get better and this is what government and business need to plan for.
“The 21st century high street is about creating a fun and family-friendly experience for consumers and, given that retail and hospitality have a symbiotic relationship, both sectors are absolutely central components for any successful high street or town centre. Our high streets simply cannot function without our hospitality sector.”
Under the new lockdown rules, off-licences and supermarkets will not be able to sell alcohol after 8pm from tonight. The new restrictions also mean the closure of the hospitality sector, apart from deliveries and takeaways for food. Other takeaway premises across Northern Ireland will also be brought into line with hospitality and will have to close at 11pm from today.
“Another measure designed to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland will see schools shutting for two weeks until 2 November when the closure will be reviewed.
