Dorset charities struggling to raise funds due to the pandemic are preparing to open their shops after 12 weeks of closure.

Following the government announcement that non-essential shops will be able to reopen from Monday, June 15, charity shops are making plans to reopen safely. New measures will be put in place to ensure everyone's safety including restrictions on the amount of people allowed in shops at a time, hand cleansing stations and signage to ensure people know to pay by card.

Some of Weldmar Hospicecare’s large charity shops will begin to open next week, but it will be a little longer for the Bridport stores.

Gavin Anderson-Taylor, director of retail for Weldmar, said: “We have 26 shops throughout Dorset and over the time of being closed, we estimate it would have cost us around £750,000, which is money that has gone and we know we won’t get that money back, we have just got to look forward to what we can do for the rest of this year.

“The Bridport East Street store will hopefully be open early July, the South Street one will stay closed for the moment as it is so small. Under social distancing guidelines, you would only be allowed one customer in there at a time. Whilst many people have their favourite stores in Bridport, we have got to focus on the one where we can serve the most amount of people.”

North, South and West Dorset Age UK aims to re-open its newly relocated retail premises in St Mary Street, Weymouth by the middle of June, followed by its shops in Bridport and Dorchester. Gill Gordon, corporate services manager, said: “We rely our charity shops, they are a huge part of what we do and we're very much looking forward to getting them reopened. We may carry the Age UK name and logo, but we are still a small independent charity, with our own registration and trustees and we rely heavily on local revenue streams." She added: “It's not as easy as throwing the doors open and saying, 'come on in'. We have to make sure we are prepared and it is safe for everybody.”

Scope, which has a shop in East Street, doesn’t yet have an opening date for the Bridport shop, and will have a staggered approach to opening its 207 stores.

Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, said: “The lock down has had a huge impact on our income at a time when disabled people need our services the most.

“It’s vital that we get our shops back serving their communities. Our ability to run services that support disabled people and their families relies on income from our charity shops.

“Our priority is to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and customers, which is why we are phasing the opening of all shops to ensure every safety measure is in place beforehand.”

Cancer Research UK, which has a shop in East Street, is also doing a phased opening, but this won’t start until June 29. When a date is announced, the shop will again be able to accept donations.