COLLAPSED fashion chain Peacocks has been saved by a senior executive with backing from an international consortium, it has been announced. Chief operating officer Steve Simpson will take over the business, saving 2,000 jobs and 200 stores, which he hopes to reopen once lockdown restrictions on non-essential retailers ease. Peacocks has branches at New River Retail Park at Five Lane Ends in Bradford, the Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley, and the Northgate Retail Centre, in Heckmondwike. The chain was part of retail mogul Philip Day s Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) fashion empire which collapsed in November last year. Mr Day was the biggest creditor of Peacocks and is owed money by the business he once owned.
Earlier today, Bradford Council said the site would be temporarily closed. ⚠️The lateral flow test centre based at St George’s Hall is temporarily closed – we will provide a further update once the facility has re-opened. Bradford Council (@bradfordmdc) January 18, 2021 In an update, the Council said: “The lateral flow site at St George’s has been deep cleaned this morning and will be opening today from 12.30pm. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.” A spokesperson told the Telegraph & Argus: As part of the infection control measures deep cleaning is carried out as part of a regular process.A positive test was confirmed this morning which necessitated the deep clean.
Picture: Bradford Covid Response Hub It s a world away from when audiences would pack into the theatre to watch a show and its repurposing in the fight against the pandemic is a stark reminder of the new normal . Both St George s Hall and the Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley are being used for the rapid lateral flow tests, which give results in 30 minutes and are used to help identify people without symptoms who have Covid-19. Roughly one in three people with the virus have no symptoms and so could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Broadening testing to identify those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly, and so break the chains of transmission.