THE Trafford Centre has outlined the social distancing measures that will be followed when its shops reopen.

Only a small number of stores in the shopping centre – Five Guys, Marks and Spencer’s food hall, Holland and Barret and Vision Express – are open at present.

But more ‘non-essential’ retailers are expected to open in the coming weeks.

The Trafford Centre’s owners Intu says that, when this happens, ‘new social distancing and hygiene procedures’ will be introduced.

These include limiting the number of shoppers and cars allowed on-site, closing some parking bays and a one-way system similar to those currently in place in supermarkets.

Escalators, toilets, keypads and other ‘key areas’ will regularly be deep cleaned while staff will be giving personal protective equipment.

Intu’s chief executive Matthew Roberts said: “Intu is the biggest landlord for most of our brand customers, so we have been working to help them plan the reopening of their stores as soon and as safely as they can.

“Experts from across Intu have formed a specialist taskforce who have considered everything we need to run the Trafford Centre and our others centres as safely as possible – with a series of central, common principles for the portfolio and individual plans for each centre.

“This includes working with our brand customers and providing them with all the support they need to reopen safely, as well as new social distancing and hygiene procedures to keep everyone who visits or works in our centres safe.

“We have introduced enhanced cleaning regimes and hand sanitation stands throughout every centre, measures to limit the number of visitors and ensure they stay socially distanced once inside, and given our staff the protective equipment they need to stay safe. “We know we cannot do this alone, and everyone who visits our centres whether for work or to shop will play their part in keeping themselves and each other safe by following the official guidelines and the instructions and safety information provided by our teams.

“Our teams have been working incredibly hard to keep our centres clean and safe during the lockdown and we are hugely grateful to them, and we would also like to thank our brand customers and visitors for all their cooperation and patience so far.”