Here's the latest Argus column by Caerphilly Council leader Cllr Philippa Marsden:

CAERPHILLY council will make local town centres a safe space for shoppers as Wales prepares to get back to business over the coming weeks.

We are also encouraging residents to ‘shop local’ by temporarily waiving charges at town centre Pay and Display car parks until the end of the year.

We want to send out a clear message that our town centres will be open for business as soon as we get the go-ahead and we are encouraging the whole community to support retailers to help them recover from this very difficult time for the local economy.

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I’m sure our decision to offer temporary free parking will also be widely welcomed and provide a real boost for businesses.

The council will implement a range of measures in town centres to help limit the spread of coronavirus. This will include new signage, social distance markings, ‘one way’ pedestrian routes where appropriate and other arrangements to encourage the public to look after their own health and wellbeing by maintaining social distancing.

We will engage the relevant Town/Community Councils and the local ward Councillors to discuss these proposals in more detail, but we need to move quickly to ensure plans are in place ahead of any relaxation of the current coronavirus restrictions.

I would urge the whole community to choose the High Street and support local businesses.