Coronavirus: Garden centres in England to reopen next week

Garden centres in some European countries have reopened - including this one in Switzerland

Garden centres in England will be allowed to reopen next week as one of the early steps to ease coronavirus lockdown measures, a senior government source has told the BBC.

Centres can reopen from Wednesday if they comply with social distancing.

Nursery bosses must control the number of people inside their shops so customers can keep 2m from each other, while in-store cafes must stay closed.

The Welsh Government has said garden centres can open from Monday.

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford announced only "modest" changes to the lockdown on Friday - also including that people would be allowed to exercise more than once a day.

He warned that it was "too soon" to go further.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will confirm the announcement regarding garden centres when he addresses the nation on Sunday.

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Guidance issued by the government will tell garden centres they will not be able to reopen any cafes or playgrounds associated with the retail space.

A senior source in the UK government said: "Garden centres typically open large open-air spaces where the risk of transmission of coronavirus is lower.

"With strict social distancing measures in place we believe they can open safely from next week."