FROM today (April 12), England has moved to Stage 2 of the Government's roadmap out of lockdown.

Now is the time to continue to 'support local' and make sure we can enjoy a happy, safe summer.

From today, the following changes are taking place:

• All non-essential shops are allowed to open, along with close-contact services, including hairdressers and beauty salons.
• Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors (you are no longer required to order a substantial meal with alcoholic drinks and there is no curfew).
• Table service and face-covering rules still apply.
• Wider social contact rules still remain in these settings to prevent indoor mixing between different households.
• Indoor leisure and gyms can reopen, as can outdoor attractions such as mini-golf or drive-in cinemas.
• Public buildings, libraries and community centres can open their doors.
• Members of the same household can take a holiday in England in self-contained accommodation or holiday lets.
• Weddings attended by up to 15 people can take place.
• All children's activities, indoor parent and child groups (up to 15 parents) can restart.

Please remember, businesses have been preparing to reopen their premises for weeks and months in many cases and some may choose to reopen today or at a later date.

Before visiting a shop or venue, check online for details about their reopening plans.

Currently, Stage 3 of the roadmap is scheduled to come in on May 17.

However, Central Government has advised that we'll only move to the next leg of the journey subject to their assessment that it is safe to do so.

Be patient

Shops and hospitality are doing all they can to become COVID-19 secure, so please do your bit and be patient with staff who are getting used to new ways of working.

Be kind

Not everybody will be ready to move out of restrictions at the same pace.

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Be kind, there's plenty of time to make up for lost time.

Be safe

Let's keep washing our hands, covering our faces and keeping our distance from those outside our household/support bubble to stop the spread of the virus.