Today, non-essential shops have reopened across in England with social distancing and covid-secure measures in place.

In Stratford, Warwickshire County Council has put in place a new one-way system for traffic to create more pavement space and to allow pedestrians and those who are queueing to stay two metres apart. This is something constituents should bear in mind if they are travelling into Stratford town centre to shop.

I want to pay tribute to the many retail businesses reopening today who, despite huge financial hardship over the last couple of months, have made the necessary changes to their premises to enable them to reopen safely today. Collectively, they have played a huge part in allowing towns in Stratford-on-Avon to start returning to some sort of normality. 

I also want to thank Warwickshire County Council for their work, and Stratford District Council for the support they have given to the retail sector during lockdown via the various grant schemes.

My message to constituents is simple: get out, shop, and support our local businesses. But please follow all the social distancing rules to protect yourselves and others.