Discount retailer Poundland will open the doors of dozens of branches across the country from Monday, May 18.

The company has kept most of its stores open for essential shopping, but in March it placed one-in-nine stores in hibernation, largely where it had another store close by or was in a shopping centre that had difficulty remaining open.

Other Poundland stores that were temporarily closed will reopen in the coming weeks.

Robust health and safety measures will operate as they do in all Poundland stores that have remained open.

Measures customers can expect to see include:

  • Marshals at the door to limit the number of customers in store at any one time
  • Floor markers to help customers maintain social distancing
  • Perspex screens at manned checkouts to protect colleagues and customers
  • The closure of every other self-checkout to make appropriate social distancing easier
  • Rigorous hygiene routines that include colleagues washing their hands every 20 minutes and key surfaces being wiped down every hour.

What have Poundland said?

Austin Cooke, Poundland’s retail director, said: “We’ve never been prouder of our role as a retailer at the heart of communities and high streets.

“While safety has to come first, we’re delighted to be able to begin reopening hibernating Poundland stores to fully serve those communities across the UK with the essentials they need.”

In normal times, Poundland attracts seven million shoppers a week to its stores across the UK, helping high streets thrive.

FULL LIST: Here are the 36 stores that will reopen from Monday, May 18:

  • Ayr - Central Shopping Centre
  • Basildon - Eastgate Shopping Centre
  • Belfast - Castlecourt Shopping Centre
  • Bootle
  • Bradford - Westfield Shopping Centre
  • Chatham - Pentagon Shopping Centre
  • Colchester - St Johns Shopping Centre
  • Cork - Merchant Quay Centre (Dealz)
  • Doncaster - Wheatley Retail Park
  • Dublin - Mary Street (Dealz)
  • Eastleigh - Swan Shopping Centre
  • Enniskillen - Erneside Shopping Centre
  • Gateshead - Metro Centre
  • Great Yarmouth - Regent Road
  • Harrogate
  • Harrow - St Anns Road
  • Ipswich - Carr Street
  • Kendal
  • Kingston upon Thames - Wheatfield Way
  • Lowestoft - Britten Shopping Centre
  • Maidstone - Chequers Shopping Centre
  • Mansfield - Four Seasons Shopping Centre
  • Milton Keynes Centre
  • Mullingar - Fairgreen Centre (Dealz)
  • Newport, Gwent - Kingsway Centre
  • Newry - Buttercrane Shopping Centre
  • Newry - Quays Shopping Centre
  • Northampton - Gold Street
  • Norwich - Castle Mall
  • Romford - Brewery Retail Park
  • Shrewsbury
  • Southend - Royals Shopping Centre
  • Sunderland - High Street West
  • Thurrock - Lakeside
  • Waltham - Abbey Retail Park
  • Wembley - High Road

More stores are expected to reopen in the coming weeks.