Farce as newly re-opened Wigan tan studios are forced to shut again

Confusion over guidelines has been blamed for the farcical situation.

Some businesses had been led to believe that they qualified for re-launch alongside the non-essential shops which were allowed by the Government to re-open their doors on Monday so long as they followed social distancing and sanitising guidelines.

They argued that, unlike hair and beauty studios, they could function without physical contact from staff, so long as sunbeds were sanitised after each use and the number of customers at any one time was strictly limited.

But not all salons re-opened, those staying shut claiming the guidance from Whitehall was clear and they had not been given leave to do so.

And they took to social media to round on competitors who did open up this week, some of the latter having received what Wigan Council says was now out-of-date advice from the town hall which in turn had been seeking government advice.

One business which did open was Ashtan Tanning Lounge in Ashton-in-Makerfield. Customers were photographed queueing outside the Wigan Road business and it posted information on social media asking customers kindly not to bring children with them and stress that there was a waiting area for a maximum of three customers at any one time. Other salon owners criticised it for opening, saying that the law did not yet allow it to do so.

But Wigan Council has since said that it would not be taking any such businesses to task because it had itself been passing on guidance to say that it had been safe to start up. Then the advice changed.

A spokesman said: “Following updated guidance received only on Wednesday from the Office for Product Safety and Standards, we are now in the process of informing salons they must remain closed until further notice.

“We appreciate the difficult situation for local tanning salons, but we must follow government guidelines and ensure the safety of our residents.

“We will continue to work with all our businesses advising them on how to reopen safely with strict social distancing measures when restrictions are lifted.”

It was clear that some of those studios which had re-opened had gone to considerable trouble to make it possible in terms of physical re-arrangements to staff premises and training of staff. And there was great excitement at the opportunity of being back in business, all very quickly crushed after just three days.

Soon after the council issued its statement, the Tanning and Beauty Studio in Platt Bridge announced on social media: “Today will be our last day of tanning until we are given more information off the Government about re-opening on July 4.

“So sorry about this. We are absolutely devastated, but we must follow Government guidelines and our local council’s.”

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