IT was at 9am on Monday, June 15, when Petersfield re-opened quietly without ceremony and just a week ahead of plans to reduce traffic in the town centre to help social distancing.

Shops and businesses cautiously welcomed back customers after a three-month lockdown closure imposed on Monday, March 23, in the fight to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Now with virus deaths falling, the government-imposed lockdown is being relaxed to allow non-essential shops to re-open.

But although the weather was sunny, people didn’t seem too keen to hit the town on a spending spree – despite spending the past three months at home locked down, allowed only an hour-a-day exercise.

Walking through town just after 9am, there wasn’t a rush of shoppers – just the normal queues outside food shops like Tesco, M&S and Waitrose.

But despite this, traders were happy to be open – and there was a hope, faint admittedly, that people with money to burn after spending months not going out spending might materialise.

And as the morning wore on, more people did start to fill the High Street, Lavant Street, Chapel Street and The Square – all soon to be part-pedestrianised, says Hampshire County Council.

The council has concerns that shop queues may intermingle, breaking the two-metre social distancing guidelines aimed at stopping the virus spreading through coughs and sneezes.

There are also worries that in an effort to stay distanced, pedestrians will step into the roads to avoid each other, putting themselves at risk.

So the council plans to reduce town-centre traffic to create more room for people to move freely and social distance.

And if the move is a success, the traffic restrictions could become permanent.

This would reduce air pollution and could encourage people to walk and cycle into town.

Work on the first phase is planned to start on Monday, June 22, with a reallocation of parking to give more space to pedestrians.

A bus gate will also be installed in the centre of The Square, but disabled blue badge holders and delivery lorries will be catered for.

There will also be signs in Rams Walk to remind shoppers to follow social-distancing guidelines.

For more information, and to take part in a survey about the plans, see www.hants.gov.uk/transport/ transportschemes/ hantscovidtravel