THE owner of two Abergavenny stores which were found to have breached Covid-19 guidelines last week has claimed he was wasn’t given sufficient guidance on the regulations from Monmouthshire County Council (MCC).

Becks Yaman’s Londis stores on Rother Avenue in Abergavenny and on Main Road in Gilwern were each handed Covid-19 improvement notices on January 29, after a council enforcement officer found the stores did not have coronavirus risk assessments.

The officer’s report said the store in Abergavenny also had no signage at the entrance for social distancing, no maximum capacity signage, and no social distancing requirements.

Mr Yaman was also instructed to erect a safety screen at his till, but he has said he hadn't been told doing so was compulsory.

Responding to the notices, he says he feels “let down after working tirelessly to keep customers safe”.

“It’s difficult to take because it might affect my business, and I’ve worked so hard to make sure people are safe,” he said.

“I’ve not received relevant information from the council on this prior to these notices being given.

“I was told screens had to be up at my tills, which I’d not heard was compulsory before. That’s really impractical for us and pointless because we wouldn’t be able to serve our customers properly.

“My regular customers will tell you I very often stand at the door to stop people from coming into the shop – as we operate at a capacity of three people in at any one time.

“I think I’m doing things a lot better than most supermarkets I walk into lately. I’m convinced my customers are completely safe when they’re here.”

Mr Yaman says there are social distancing signage on the floors in both of his stores, which he has been asked to improve.

He has until Friday, February 5, to make necessary changes, and says he will do so.

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A Monmouthshire County Council spokeswoman said: “We have provided regular updates to licensed premises by email throughout the pandemic and also provided webinars for all licensed businesses to ask questions and receive guidance.

“Our records indicate we sent an email to Mr Yaman and other relevant businesses on January 21, with the latest requirements and links to the relevant legislation.

“Each business is unique in operation and layout, therefore it is the business's responsibility to ensure compliance with the latest coronavirus regulations and apply the required Covid-19 controls required for retail premises.

“The council’s Public Protection team will offer advice and are proactively inspecting business that remain open during level 4 restrictions, whilst also investigating complaints.

“An officer inspected the Londis, Gilwern and Londis, Rother Avenue Abergavenny on January 29 and found a lack of suitable Covid-19 controls.

"Mr Yaman spoke with the officer by phone during the inspection to discuss what is required in his premises, including the required signage on entry and a screen at the till/counter area.

“Whilst in the stores the officer witnessed customers in both retail premises paying for items at the counter served by staff at an estimated distance of 0.5m between them, with no controls such as screens installed. During the phone call the officer confirmed he would give Mr Yaman a week to install the items required, rather than the minimum of 48 hours available in the legislation.

“Monmouthshire County Council has also provided a downloadable social distancing poster for all business to download on the website - https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/shop-local/for-businesses/.

“We have recently updated the page with new ‘maximum capacity template signage’ and ‘face covering signage’ available to all businesses.

“The officer returned Monday, February 1, to issue the improvement notice and handed the notice to Mr Yaman who agreed he would complete the required measures to reduce the risk of spread of the virus. Officers will return to the premises to ensure compliance with the notices.”