Hucknall and Bulwell businesses need your help to bounce back after lockdown

Non-essential retail businesses were given the green light to re-open as part of the next stage of lockdown lifting on the Government’s roadmap to normality after the Covid-19 crisis.

The reopening has been a relief for many businesses in the town – but now the hard work really begins as shop owners try to bounce back from the crippling blow.

Mike Coultas, of Hucknall Home Improvement Centre on Annesley Road, said: “This last year has made people realise that they value local shops more now than they have done and realised that they need to support them because they know what it would be like now without them.

“Having sampled the high street without small independent shops and seen what the future would be like without them, a lot of them have said ‘wow’.

"People like Amazon and like to use it but you can’t always get what you want on Amazon and you can’t touch things or feel things on Amazon, you don’t have that personal ability to make the right decision based on what you see and feel that you can in a shop.

"It’s been a big wake-up call to everybody I think, which has got to be good for small independent shops.”

That view was echoed by Dion Widdowson of Mega Furniture Discount in Bulwell.

He said: “It’s really good to be open, we’ve been a long time closed and money was starting to run out.

"It’s so important people come and support local, independent businesses like ourselves because 60 per cent of the UK workforce is employed by independent, family-owned firms like ours so this re-opening has seen 60 per cent of the UK workforce get back to work effectively.

"It’s essential for the economy of this country because high streets are dying and now people can help bring a bit of life back to them.

“We’re a furniture shop and you can’t beat being able to go in and touch, feel and see what you’re buying when it’s something like that.”