Even before the virus hit Leicester was suffering the same problems as other major cities.
Footfall was down and some shops were closing as consumers went online for the best deals and choices.
But now the streets stand empty, with only "essential" retailers allowed to trade.
A concerted effort is now underway to do something about that.
A roadmap to reopen Leicester city centre to shoppers as early as June 1 is being drawn up - and could include one-way pedestrian routes, clear signs, hand sanitiser stations and new advice for shops to keep "covid-compliant".
Shop managers across the city centre are preparing to start trading again, two months after the lockdown began.
Boris Johnson has said there is a chance non-essential shops could start reopening from June 1 鈥渁t the earliest鈥, while pubs, cafes and restaurants could begin reopening in July - assuming the spread of Covid-19 continues to drop.
Leicester city centre shops selling 鈥渆ssentials鈥 such as Boots, Iceland, Specsavers and the M&S food hall have stayed open, and city centre managers and business owners are now discussing the best way forward for the rest.
Simon Jenner who runs the city鈥檚 Business Improvement District (BID Leicester) said the plans, being drawn up by a new 鈥淓conomic Recovery Partnership鈥 could include:
- encouraging shop staff to use personal protective equipment (PPE) where appropriate
- setting up hand sanitiser stations
- putting down social distancing markers
- erecting signs to direct people away from each other and avoid 鈥減inch points鈥
- one-way footpaths
He said: 鈥淭here has been a lot of doom and gloom around, and it is now a case of helping the city get its act together and reopening.
鈥淲e are going to have to do a lot of communication to get people to maintain social distancing, and although technically store staff will be responsible for what happens in store, there will be a list provided of what they need to do to be covid-compliant.
鈥淚t will be a judgement call for them, but we can help with that.
鈥淚t looks like retail could start opening on June 1. The food and beverage sector can start opening from July 1, but it鈥檚 likely that that won鈥檛 happen at full capacity.
鈥淩ight now we are trying to get our heads around the implications of pedestrian traffic, particularly in shopping areas, and there will probably be some areas that become one way. Highcross and Haymarket are also looking at their floor maps.
鈥淚 think that largely people have been obeying the rules, but we want to minimise any anxiety.鈥
City centre director Sarah Harrison said shops opening from June 1 but would depend on various issues - including staff not being stuck at home caring for children before the schools fully reopen.
She said: 鈥淏y last count there were something like 39 鈥渆ssential鈥 businesses open in the city centre and many of the market traders have traded all of the way through.
鈥淲e have a city wide draft plan at the moment looking at issues such as social distancing and pinch points and looking at centralised hand sanitation and whether we can have one way walking and queuing systems.
鈥淥ur main job is to support the businesses as much as we can and to help people regain their confidence to come back into the city centre by feeling as safe as possible.鈥
Andrew Cartwright runs Wingates Gallery in Loseby Lane, which has continued to trade while its two shops are closed.
He said they planned to open their bigger gallery in St Mary's Road, Market Harborough, on June 1, assuming the lockdown is eased on that day.
He said: 鈥淲e are ready to go with perspex screens on the counters and lines on the floor.
鈥淲hen we can show that that works we will open the Leicester shop and bring the team back there. That might be three-four weeks later when customers feel more confident about coming back into an enclosed space.鈥
Jo Tallack, general manager of Highcross Leicester, said one of the biggest challenges when it comes to re-opening shops was to ensure consumers felt safe.
She said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be tough, but by working together we鈥檙e confident we can get Leicester back on its feet.鈥
