Leeds Trinity Centre and White Rose centre issue statement after reopening

Leeds Trinity Centre and White Rose centre have issued a statement after reopening on the first day of Tier 3 restrictions in Leeds.
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Shoppers headed into Leeds city centre today as the second national lockdown was lifted and non-essential shops were reopened.

Leeds is now subject to Tier 3 level Covid restrictions which means households are not able to mix indoors and pubs, bars and restaurants cannot reopen.

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However, high street and independent shops are now open - with strict COVID safe measure in place.

Leeds Trinity Centre and White Rose centre issue statement after reopeningLeeds Trinity Centre and White Rose centre issue statement after reopening
Leeds Trinity Centre and White Rose centre issue statement after reopening

A spokesperson for Landsec, which manages both White Rose Shopping Centre and Trinity Leeds, said guests had been "safely enjoying their Christmas shopping".

Queues had been moving "quickly" according to management, with visitors adhering to updated safety measures at both centres.

The statement said: “We’re pleased to see both Trinity Leeds and White Rose welcoming shoppers to all stores today. Guests have been safely enjoying their Christmas shopping, and we’re happy to say that any queues have been moving along quickly. All visitors have been happily adhering to our updated safety measures, and we’d like to remind guests that they can check our websites for the quietest shopping times.”

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There were plenty of shoppers in the city centre by midday as people began their Christmas shopping.However, it was not as busy as you might expect for a December lunchtime heading into the festive season.

The long queues predicted by some largely failed to materialise, and some shops continued to look a little forlorn as small pockets of masked shoppers shuffled past.

On Briggate, there were queues forming outside Zara and Debenhams - which recently entered liquidation - but these were fast moving.

Harvey Nichols and John Lewis also saw a steady footfall, though neither store was overwhelmingly busy.

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There were plenty of people walking around with Primark's brown paper bags but there was not a repeat of the long queues seen after the first national lockdown.

Shoppers said they were "pleasantly surprised" by the small scale of the crowds.

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