Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

Bedfordshire based Whitbread, external - which owns Premier Inn - has launched a £1bn fundraising scheme as it expects its hotels and restaurants in the UK to remain closed or operate at low occupancy levels until September.

"Demand recovery is expected to be slow as social distancing restrictions are gradually relaxed," it said.

The company, which has furloughed about 27,000 staff, has revealed plans to raise £1bn through a rights issue, proposing to offer one new share for every two existing shares.

BBC Essex

A seaside local authority is nervous about people coming to visit its beaches after being attracted by the warm weather during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Southend Borough Council, external has experienced a large influx of visitors this week but has fears over social distancing.

The local authority said it had put measures in place to try to keep people apart after photographs of apparently crowded beaches were published.

Government guidelines, external allow people to travel for fresh air and exercise, as long as they keep two metres (6ft) from anyone they do not live with.

Independent borough councillor Martin Terry, cabinet member for community safety, said the authority was "quite nervous", adding: “We’ve had days when we’ve had 300,000 people come down here.

"All we can do is advise people and say is please, please stay apart and be sensible."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Bus companies in Milton Keynes, struggling to survive the lockdown, will be given more than £700,000 by the council to keep them going.

The £711,152 will come from the council's parking account, which has itself collapsed from about £1m each month to "virtually nothing".

Companies like Arriva are normally paid for the number of concessionary fare-paying passengers. This decision will see them receive payments in advance for May and June.

Labour council leader Pete Marland said it ws a "double hit on our balance sheet" but that "without this support it’s likely that bus companies would face severe difficulties in being able to maintain a viable operation."

The collection of bulky items will resume in East Suffolk after the district council temporarily suspended the service due to Covid-19.

From Monday, households can have larger items such as fridges and furniture collected from their properties.

East Suffolk Council, external said it was satisfied criteria to ensure the safety of its crews had been met.

Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

Changes to four town centres in Hertfordshire will come into force this weekend to help social distancing.

From Saturday, Watford, Bishop’s Stortford, Borehamwood and Hertford will see safety measures, including roads closed to traffic, the removal of parking and narrowing of roads, to help pedestrians.

Image source, Google

Up to a dozen more town centres - including Harpenden, Hitchin and St Albans - will follow from early next week.

Hertfordshire County Council said the changes were designed to support residents, businesses and families to remain safe as government allowed high streets to reopen in a "phased and gradual manner".

BBC Business News

Luton-based EasyJet has announced that a small number of flights will restart on 15 June, with passengers and cabin crew required to wear masks.

Image source, Reuters

EasyJet's planes have been grounded since late March, but the low-cost airline said it would restart a "small number" of routes where there was enough customer demand, to include domestic flights in Britain and France, with other destinations to be added later.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said these were "small and carefully-planned steps".

Mr Lundgren said further routes would be announced over coming weeks "as customer demand increases and lockdown measures across Europe are relaxed".

The National Trust is opening several of its coast and countryside parks in the East of England this Bank Holiday weekend, but visitors must book a car parking space first.

Image source, Geograph/Christine Johnstone

Some venues, including Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire, have already reached capacity.

On its website, external, the trust said: "For some of our larger car parks, we’ve introduced a booking system to help manage visitor numbers and maintain safe social distancing."

Other venues opening include Blickling Hall and Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk as well as Dunwich Heath and Beach in Suffolk.

Smaller, local car parks not require booking.

Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

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