Keeping Shoppers Safe with Temporary Road Closures
Written by karen on 17 June 2020
Visitors to town centres will find it easier to safely social distance from next week when three high streets are temporarily pedestrianised.
New traffic restrictions are being put in place in Faversham, Sheerness and Sittingbourne to support the safe reopening of non-essential retail following lockdown.
Cllr Monique Bonney, cabinet member for economy and property at the council, said:
“With more shops now reopening, and other businesses potentially reopening from 4 July, we need to make sure people can stay safe visiting our high streets.
“We’ve already done a lot of work to provide signage and advice for businesses to help them reopen safely, but we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make sure people can shop safely.
“We’ve been working with Faversham and Sheerness town councils to plan these temporary closures, which will give pedestrians more room to safely move around and give more space for any queues outside busy shops.
“We know this may mean shops have to make changes to deliveries and their commercial waste collections, so we want to let them know as soon as possible about the changes.
“We’re once again hand delivering letters to retailers in Sheerness and Sittingbourne, and the town council are liaising with local shops in Faversham.
“These measures are necessary to make sure our towns reopen safely and will help give people confidence to come back and access local shops and services.”
In Faversham, in addition to the existing restrictions, from Monday, 22 June, the following roads in Faversham will also be closed to all through traffic between 10:00 and 16:00 Monday – Thursday:
- Court Street – from the junction with Market Place to the junction with Crescent Road.
- Market Place – for its entire length.
- Middle Row – for its entire length.
- West Street – from the junction with Market Place to a point in line with the boundary of 121 and 122 West Street
In Sheerness, from Thursday, 25 June, the following roads will be closed to through traffic between 10:00 and 16:00 Monday – Saturday:
- High Street – From the junction with Millennium Way to the junction with Victory Street.
- Broadway – From the junction with High Street to the junction with Trinity Place.
- Hope St – From the junction with High Street to the junction with Hope Way
In Sittingbourne, in addition to the existing restrictions, from Thursday, 25 June, the following roads will also be closed to through traffic between 10:00 and 16:00 Monday – Thursday:
- High Street – from the existing gate near the junction with Station Street to the junction with Central Avenue.
For more information about the work being done to support shops safely reopening, visit www.swale.gov.uk/back-to-business.