Businesses across the area are setting up innovative ways to help them face the new national lockdown.
Some are set to establish click and collect selling methods to get them through what promises to be a testing few weeks.
From tomorrow, all shops which sell “non-essential” goods hav to close their doors for four weeks as part of new national restrictions set to be imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The measures mean people must stay at home except for specific reasons and will force businesses selling non-essential items to close from midnight tonight.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on in the House of Commons that these “autumn measures” to combat the surge in COVID-19 cases will expire automatically on Wednesday, 2nd December.
“We will then, I hope, very much be able to get this country going again, to get businesses and shops open again in the run up to Christmas.
“But that depends on us all doing our bit now to make sure that we get the R down.
“There is no doubt that we can and that we will be able to go forward from 2nd December with a very different approach,” said Mr Johnson.
MPs voted in favour of the Government’s plans, with 516 members voting for it and 38 voting no.
Sarah Cox, of Great Dockray-based Wild Ivy, Floral Design, said: “We are very much trying to stay postive.
“We are thinking on our feet to see how we can keep functioning as a florist — people always need flowers.”
She said they had always offered home delivery, but now are also going to be offering a click and collect service for pre-ordered and pre-paid for fresh and dried flowers, house plants, and all sorts of Christmas gifts, at an agreed time.
As well as premade festive wreaths, which can be pre-ordered, Sarah said they were also going to selling do-it-yourself wreath kits, instead of holding their popular annual wreath-making workshops.
Penrith businessman Kelvin Dixon, who runs lighting specialist Seagraves & Dixon, with his wife, Helena, said the new national lockdown was probably a very necessary thing to have to happen, but from a business perspective is was the “worst possible time of year” to have to shut up shop.
The fear is that people will just go straight online and do their shopping there, said Mr Dixon.
“We are going to try and do a click and collect service to keep us going through this difficult time and people will still be able to contact us to discuss their lighting needs,” he said.
Mr Dixon added what makes Penrith special is all its small independent shops and he hopes that they will all still be here after the lockdown comes to an end.
Amanda Simpson, owner of Penrith’s Creations Hair and Beauty Salon in Poets Walk, which has been established for 26 years, said they were really busy trying to get as many of their clients as they can booked in before tomorrow — and people were also booking in appointments for December.
She said the staff had all agreed to work longer hours to accommodate clients.
“It is what it is. We would prefer not to have to do this, but we have to do what is necessary to keep people safe,” said Amanda.
