Public protection officers shut down shop for breaking Covid-19 rules

Gareth Williams, local democracy reporter

Public protection officers have temporarily shut down a shop after it was found to breach Covid-19 safety regulations.

Gwynedd Council confirmed that, after receiving complaints from members of the public, a Premises Closure Notice has been issued on Fairbourne Mini Mart after the business failed to put “reasonable measures” in place to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus.

Coming into effect today (Friday), the notice will remain in place until February 19, or earlier if officers feel that compliance has been achieved.

Among the concerns listed by Gwynedd Council and North Wales Police officers were: 

• no signage in place at the entrance to the premises to say that face coverings must be worn prior to entering
• no hand sanitising station evident upon entry to the premises;
• no floor markings or signage was evident directing people as to where they should walk;
• the premises aisles confined, making it difficult to social distance, and no one way system in place to ensure people can comply with the two metre social distancing requirements;
• no protective screen was in place in the till area and no two metre social distancing in place.

‘Warnings’ 

According to the local authority, warnings had been issued previously but officers found during a recent visit that no improvements have been made.

Cllr Gareth Griffith, Gwynedd Council’s cabinet member for the environment said: “The vast majority of Gwynedd businesses are working extremely hard to keep customers safe and to comply with the Covid-19 regulations. 

“This helps to keep our communities safe. Unfortunately, the Mini mart business in Fairbourne has disregarded the advice and warnings given to them.

“Our staff are on-hand to offer help and guidance for businesses, but we simply cannot ignore instances when shops such as this one refuse to play their part in keeping people safe.”

North Wales Police Chief Inspector, Owain Llewellyn, added: “We will continue to carry out joint visits with Gwynedd Council to ensure that all businesses strictly follow the Coronavirus rules and regulations.

“It is important to remember that businesses play a vital role in helping to stop the spread of Coronavirus and we will do everything in our power to keep our communities safe.”

 Attempts have been made to contact Fairbourne Mini Mart for comment.