Bunting a splash of colour to welcome back shoppers
BRINGING colour to St Peter Port, the first half of the 10,000m of shiny new bunting was hoisted into position yesterday.
With the help of Ravenscroft, Event Group, the Guernsey Retail Group and several volunteers from the Town Centre Partnership and beyond, town will be able to revel in a display of rainbow colours in time for when shops can begin to reopen.
Andrew Pouteaux, who was on the TCP that began the tradition but disbanded at the end of last year, still co-ordinated this year’s efforts in order for its successor, the GRG, to focus its efforts on getting back to business.
‘We’ve all been keen to get some colour back into town,’ he said.
‘I envisage town starting to open again soon and with that in mind this is something good that we can do that will welcome shoppers back.’
He added that although the TCP had been wound up, he wanted to help local business as much as he could, considering the GRG includes Creaseys director Jonathan Creasey as its chairman.
‘Retailers are scrabbling to get ready in time to be able to open once restrictive measures are lifted,’ he said.
‘I called up people I know, with others calling me to help out. There’s about nine of us altogether who will be helping to put it up over the next two days.
‘GRG are still relatively new and are busy figuring out the logistics of opening, so we [the volunteers] thought it’d be good to help out this year by taking this task upon ourselves to still get the bunting up – next year they can do it themselves.’
The new bunting, which was purchased last year by Ravenscroft following a plea from TCP, was due to go up in April but that was delayed due to lockdown.
They bought 12,500m of new bunting, however, only 10,000m will be required to be put up through the Lower Pollet, La Plaiderie, Le Pollet, Smith Street, High Street, Mill Street and Fountain Street.
Bunting in the Arcade, which needs to be put up by ladder, will go up on Sunday.
