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The Mall Luton unveils plans for shoppers visiting from next week
As shopping centres up and down the country prepare to re-open following the government’s announcement that non-essential retail can begin to trade again from next Monday, 15th June, The Mall Luton have unveiled the specific measures being put in place to ensure the safety and comfort of shoppers.
Social distancing restrictions and hygiene precautions are being introduced within the walkways and facilities at The Mall, alongside those planned by centre retailers.
Roy Greening, General Manager at The Mall, Luton commented: “The Mall has remained open to provide access to essential retailers over the past few months. From the outset, the safety and security of shoppers and staff has been our priority. Throughout this period we have been carefully managing the flow of people through our centres in line with government guidelines. As we prepare for increased numbers of visitors with the opening of all our stores, we are implementing enhanced measures to make sure the centre is a safe place to visit.”
The Mall Luton is one of the busiest malls in Bedfordshire
The centre has considered each part of the customer’s visit, in advance of the wider opening.
A traffic light system will provide shoppers with a guide on how busy the centre is. Managers at the centre will use footfall technology to manage capacity and instigate green, amber or red alerts.
“Green means the centre is free-flowing, with no queues to enter the centre – a good time to shop,” Roy explained. “Moving to amber means the centre is approaching capacity and visitors need to prepare to queue before being able to come into the centre. Red means the centre has reached capacity and visitors will be required to queue outside until such time that we can safely allow them in.”
The traffic light status will be updated on the centre’s Facebook page facebook.com/themallluton and customers are urged to check there for the most up to date status before they visit.
Nearly all entrances to the centre will be open from 15th June, with each having a separate entrance and exit door to enable social distancing. The Bute Street entrance (by Halifax) will become exit-only, due to space constraints and the entrance to the hotel will remain closed until the venue re-opens.
A one-way system will guide shoppers to turn left when exiting shops and follow the arrow markers on the floor.
Sanitiser stations have been installed throughout the centre for customer use.
An enhanced deep cleaning regime has also been implemented throughout the centre, at key touchpoints, including toilets and baby change facilities.
Lifts in the centre will be restricted to one household group at a time.
Car park chip coins will be cleaned after every use before being placed back into the dispenser machines, and all shoppers will be asked to use contactless payment methods wherever possible for their parking and in stores.
Roy continued, “We want everyone who chooses to visit The Mall to feel as safe as possible and ask our shoppers to please adhere to the government’s guidance on social distancing to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus, including of course staying at home should they have symptoms of COVID-19. We would also ask visitors to be polite and respectful to centre and retail staff who have had to adapt very quickly to support and implement these systems and precautions.”
Information on accessibility and visiting the centre will be available on the centre website www.themall.co.uk/luton and via social media channels.