Romsey Town Council (RTC) has announced it is teaming up with a local authority in a bid to make the town centre safe for visitors amid coronavirus.

RTC will be working with Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) in an effort to help them with plans including signage, markings and hygiene facilities to keep people safe from the deadly bug.

As restrictions begin to be lifted by central government, a number of shops will be reopening later this month.

In response to this, the borough council has been working on its recovery phase of the coronavirus response and is now preparing to make town centres safe and secure spaces.

Romsey town centre manager, Mark Edgerley, said: “Discussions with local retailers have convinced us that businesses are ready to open, risk assessments have been worked on and physical measures have been installed.

"There will be temporary measures in place such as limiting numbers in shops, one-way systems and some queueing on pavements but these are slight inconveniences to ensure we all stay safe."

Deputy leader of TVCBC, cllr Nick Adams-King, added: “We are working hard with Hampshire County Council and Romsey Town Council to ensure our residents feel safe in their local community.

“As the restrictions are lifted by central government over the coming few weeks, we need to ensure that we’re prepared for high streets and town centres to become more populated places.

“Although we realise it will take time for things to get back to normality, hopefully these small changes will help to make a big difference.”

This comes as Mr Edgerley revealed up to £112,000 could be dished out to the market town along with Stockbridge and Andover as part of the Government's Reopening High Streets Safely Fund.

He said the money would be used "for extra work that might need to be done to give people the confidence to come back to town centres".