Many of the businesses have seen no custom in the past three months but now, with safety measures in place, business owners have been able to welcome shoppers back with open arms. Former mayor Paul Wells owns Unique Workwear in London Road. He said: "It has been a steady flow of people all morning. It's good that there are people getting back out and about on the high street and it is great to welcome back our customers and have that high street experience really. "It's not the same as buying online. It is good to see the high street vibrant and busy and everyone seems to be keeping to the two metre social distancing." Ryan Mercado owns the e-cigarrette and vape shop Vapor Evolution in The Arcade. He has set up a one-way system in his shop as well as hand sanitiser station for staff and customers. Ryan said reopening the store has brought an influx of customers who were not using his delivery service. "It has been like a ghost town but we are happy thew government did what they did in terms of grants. If they didn't, I don't think we would have survived. "It has not been too bad. It has been a lot better than the previous three months. We had a non-contact delivery service. We have had 24 people in so far - the most deliveries we were doing in the past was highs of 16 and some days it was only two or three." Amanda Waller is the owner of Snooks Gift Boutique in The Arcade which first opened its doors to the public in May last year. Amanda raised some concerns about social distancing measures being ignored but said it is 'great' to see people walking along the The Arcade "It's all in the shop but we are looking at an online presence as a result of lockdown," she said. "Some of the social distancing has gone out of the window a bit. People still need to be aware that if you are coming out to shop you still need to be mindful of other people. We are a small store so that limits us and I think it can make people a little nervous. "As long as people remain mindful then there shouldn't be too much of an issue."
