Charity shop that has lost £65,000 since lockdown reopens in Northampton tomorrow, Monday

The Home by Scope charity shop in Northampton will be open those stores reopening tomorrow, Monday.

And it cannot come soon enough for the charity, which has seen its income fall by 85 per cent during lockdown with the Northampton shop estimated to have lost £65,000 since the shop closed due to Covid-19.

Across the country, the charity has lost about £1.9 million a month.

A spokesperson said: "Scope’s priority as its shops reopen is the safety of staff, volunteers and customers.

"Shopping post-Coronavirus will be a different experience and new safety guidelines will be in place. Scope are introducing social distancing, intensive shop cleaning, hand washing and imposing a 72-hour quarantine for all donations.

"All shops will have sneeze screens in place at the till for added reassurance," the spokesperson said.

The Northampton shop is one of only 16 to reopen as the charity staggers the reopening of its 207 stores.

"For the initial period, shops will be inviting one customer in at a time. All customers will be expected to use the hand sanitiser before browsing and one-way systems will be in place where necessary, along with two-metre distancing markers on floors," the spokesperson said.

As many people have had more time at home for a declutter, Scope is hoping to turn the public’s donation bags into money for services that support disabled people and their families. Each bag of donations is worth, on average, £20 to Scope.

Nuala Morgan, manager of Home by Scope charity shop in Northampton, said: “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to welcome our wonderful community through our doors and we’re all looking forward to seeing our customers once more.

“We’ve put stringent safety procedures in place to ensure the safety of our customers and colleagues. I am sure this will seem rather strange for many people to begin with and I hope customers will bear with us during this period.

“You can still find fabulous bargains and hidden treasure in our shop. If people wish to donate, they can either bring it along to our shop in Abington Street and put it in the purple wheelie bin outside. Or they can see if there will be a driver in their area, by going onto the Scope website.

“If anyone has a few hours to spare and would like to consider volunteering, we’ll ensure you have PPE and are well supported. Please do drop in or call the shop for a chat. We’re a very friendly team and as long as you have a comfortable pair of shoes, you’ll thoroughly enjoy volunteering with Scope and will be helping to support disabled people.”