Primark, Aldi and M&S are among the high street retailers to announce a change in opening hours as England’s national lockdown draws to a close on 2nd December.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday announced that all non-essential shops, gyms, leisure facilities and hairdressers will reopen across the country when the lockdown ends in preparation for the lead-up to Christmas.
The announcement formed part of the government’s COVID Winter Plan and “tougher” three tier system.
Now, a number of major UK retailers – Primark, Aldi and M&S – have announced changes to operating ours in what is identified as a bid to ensure Christmas shoppers can get their goods before the big day, and to stop shops from becoming so crammed that necessary social distancing cannot be upheld.
M&S has confirmed 400 of its stores will remain open until midnight on 21st, 22nd & 23rd December.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sacha Berendji – Retail, Operations and Property Director at M&S – said: “We want our customers to be able to shop with confidence this Christmas, which means supporting social distancing in our stores and minimal queueing outside as the weather gets colder.
“To help with this, we’ll be operating our longest ever opening hours just before Christmas.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Along with the wider industry, we continue to ask for Sunday trading hours to be extended to help us increase our capacity to serve everyone safely this festive season.”
The branches which don’t stay open until midnight will close at 10pm.
Aldi is also ensuring its supermarkets stay open until 11pm from 21st – 23rd December, and Primark has indicated intention to operate for extended ours when doors reopen next month, with a spokesperson for the chain declaring: “Associated British Foods Plc are calling for extended trading hours for Primark stores once they re-open in December.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr Johnson is due to announce which tier each part of the country will be placed into on Thursday.
It has not yet been indicated at this point how long the revised three tier system will be in place for, and whether areas will eventually transition into different tiers depending on case numbers, but restrictions may result in alterations to various retail operational matters.
The COVID Winter Plan can be accessed in full here.
Trending
Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
Trending
Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
24th November 2020 
