Call for garden centres to be allowed to remain open in Tier 4 areas
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HOMEWARE stores and garden centres will have to close in all level 4 areas from Boxing Day – a move slammed "hugely disappointing" by one trade association.
The Scottish Government announced the tightening of retail rules, classing both sectors as non-essential.
"Click and collect" services from these stores can still operate, however.
Members of the public within level 4 areas are also being urged to stay close to home to help stop the spread of Covid-19 and the new variant of the virus.
The changes were announced during a statement to Parliament by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. She said: "Given the severity of the situation we face and the need to limit interactions as much as possible, we intend to define essential retail more narrowly than we have done recently.
"In short, that means homeware stores and garden centres will be classed as non-essential and will therefore require to close, with the exception of 'click and collect'.
"Financial support will remain available for businesses affected and the finance secretary is urgently assessing what more the Scottish Government can do, particularly for the sectors most affected.
"For those living in level 4 areas – which from Saturday will be the vast majority of us – our strong advice is to stay as local as possible and to stay at home as much as possible.
"We will be considering in the days ahead whether we need to place that advice in law.
"As more evidence of the impact of this new strain becomes available, we will consider whether there is a need to strengthen level 4 restrictions any further."
Reacting to news, James Clark, director of policy and communications at the Horticultural Trades Association, said: “The news that Scotland has decided to tighten the definition of what is included as ‘non-essential retail’ to include garden centres is hugely disappointing. Although the new strain of the virus is concerning and clearly something that demands action, we firmly believe garden centres are essential for enabling better mental and physical wellbeing for people who are trying to manage the impact of restrictions on daily life.
"There is little to no evidence that garden centres are a covid transmission risk - in fact they provide large and airy environments, which have been enhanced by the introduction of first-class, tailored social distancing measures - and should be able to stay open. Allowing ‘click and collect’ services provides only the barest of business needs – we know from the last lockdown that only 15-20 per cent of sales were achieved in this way.
"For Scottish retailers and growers - whose route to market depends on garden centres - going into the key Spring season on the back of a long lockdown period will be hugely damaging to their businesses. Growers are putting planting plans into operation now. We need the Scottish Government to recognise this and take the appropriate action to help safeguard the future of our industry. We will be seeking meetings with Ministers urgently, with a view to getting garden centres open as soon as possible in the new year.”
