Harborough residents' biggest worries during Covid have been health and welfare of their families - and shoppers not obeying the two metre rule

People have told Harborough council that their biggest worry during the Covid-19 pandemic has been the health and welfare of their families.

They have also said that they did generally “feel safe” returning to the high streets of places like Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Kibworth and Broughton Astley.

But nearly 75 per cent of people said their biggest concern was that fellow shoppers would not maintain the two metre social distance from them.

More than 230 people shared their views after the council asked about their experiences during the first coronavirus lockdown from March to June 2020 and the period following this.

The authority acted in a bid to “develop a good understanding of how people have been accessing council information and services during this time, what they thought of the council's response to the crisis and how communication and support could be improved across the district”.

The council imposed new measures to create a safer environment for shoppers for the reopening of town centres.

They included suspended parking charges, street stenciling to help people queue safely, hand sanitizer stations, high street helpers to offer guidance and support to shoppers and temporary road changes in Lutterworth, Market Harborough, Kibworth and Broughton Astley.

The council also created dedicated coronavirus web pages to provide up-to-date support and guidance and information about any changes to services as a result of the shattering virus outbreak.

A letter was also sent to every household in the district with support information.

A new community hub has dealt with 1,700 requests for support from residents, with many more requests handled directly by community groups.

More than £21 million in Government grants was also handed out to businesses in need by a special council team.

The coronavirus response survey found that 55 per cent of respondents said they were happy the council did enough to protect and support them during lockdown, with 30 per cent of people saying it could have done more.

The other 15 per cent of respondents mostly said they had not required support from the council, had been helped by local volunteers or were not aware of what support was available.

Cllr Phil King, who leads Harborough council, said: "I'd like to give thanks to the hundreds of residents and business for their valuable feedback which is helping shape our continuing work to recover from the impact of this devastating pandemic.

“Whilst I am hugely proud of the council and the way colleagues worked in partnership with volunteer and community groups across the district to help those residents and businesses in urgent need of support, we wanted to seek the views of our communities to identify opportunities to bolster our efforts."

Some 60 per cent of respondents want to hear more information via the council's Facebook page, with 45 per cent wanting to have information via the online residents' newsletter and 43 per cent wanting news through the council's website.

People would also like updates via direct email, local publications and Instagram.

The survey asked if people knew the council continued to run key services during the lockdown period.

Bin collections, customer services and environmental health were well-known to be still up and running.

But other services such as safeguarding protection, Lifeline, Active Harborough and licensing processing and support were not.

Following the survey feedback the council has already started putting in place suggestions made by residents and businesses.

You can see the latest updates on coronavirus at www.harborough.gov.uk/coronavirus