Trinity Leeds and White Rose shopping centres 'excited' for full reopening

And as the finishing touches are put in place this weekend, the mood at the Trinity Leeds and White Rose shopping centres is upbeat.

Trinity Leeds centre director David Maddison said: “I think very genuinely, it’s excitement now. People have had enough of being at home, they just want to get back out now. People are excited to be opening, to be putting new fashion stock out.”

It is a view shared by his White Rose counterpart, Steven Foster, who said: “I think we’re really looking forward to welcoming people back. The centre will look very different when our guests come back but this is about making them comfortable and giving them that reassurance.”

White Rose has remained open throughout lockdown to allow customers to access Sainsbury's and other essential retailers, but Monday will be the first day of trading for many retailers since March 23.

Mr Foster said: “It looks like two-thirds of the units that can open within the Government guidelines will be able to open from Monday, with more to follow through the week.”

Those guidelines have been the focus of a huge amount of work, with measures such as floor stickers reminding shoppers to social distance, one-way systems and u-turn points for walking round the centres, and hand-sanitising stations at regular intervals.

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Individual shops and the centres as a whole will also be operating queuing systems at entrances to ensure nowhere becomes too crowded, while robust cleaning programmes have been put in place.