Shops in Suffolk and north Essex are preparing to reopen, with John Lewis, Debenhams and Primark having announced their opening dates, though Next and Greggs have not yet confirmed theirs.

Ipswich Star: The GO Outdoors store at Anglia Retail Park in Ipswich - long before social distancing was thought of. Picture: ARCHANTThe GO Outdoors store at Anglia Retail Park in Ipswich - long before social distancing was thought of. Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant)

Many shops are getting set to welcome customers back from June 15, while some which sell essential goods are reopening earlier.

Stores in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Colchester and across the region are busy ensuring they can safeguard shoppers once they do open their doors. We will keep this guide updated as more announcements are made.

Shopping centres

Arc shopping centre in Bury St Edmunds has confirmed that a number of its stores will reopen from June 15, including Debenhams, H&M, Pandora, Peacocks, Superdry, River Island and Hotel Chocolat.

Large stores and chains

• John Lewis, Futura Park, Ipswich

The chain has confirmed the Ipswich branch, in Futura Park, will be one of 13 stores reopening across the UK in June. The store will open on Thursday, June 18 in the second wave of openings, alongside Norwich and Bluewater.

Read more - John Lewis announces exact date for reopening of Ipswich store

• Primark, Ipswich and Colchester

The leading budget fashion retailer has announced it intends to open all its stores in England on June 15. It has revealed changes to the ways customers will be allowed to shop in its stores, including limiting the number of customers allowed in store at once.

Read more - Primark Ipswich and Colchester stores set to reopen

• Debenhams, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Colchester

The department store chain has announced that it will open 50 of its stores in the UK on June 15, including those in Ipswich, Colchester and Bury St Edmunds.

• Coes, Ipswich

One of Suffolk’s best-known independent retailers, Coes, is preparing to reopen its store in Norwich Road on June 16. Preparations include a new one-way system and social distancing markers.

Read more - Coes prepares to welcome shoppers back

•Glasswells, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill

Three large showrooms owned by the home furnishing department store are reopening from Saturday, May 30, offering goods including kitchenware, lighting, carpets, flooring, home accessories and garden furniture.

• Halfords, Ipswich Euro Retail Park and Colchester

The bike and car parts retailer has confirmed its stores at Ipswich Euro and Colchester will be among 53 sites where customers will be allowed back in. Its Ipswich store has already reopened and the Colchester one is due to open on June 3.

• Dunelm, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Colchester

All stores run by the homeware chain have now gradually reopened, with social distancing and safety measures, but its Pausa coffee shops remain closed.

• Currys PC World

The computer retailer has begun trialling a drive-thru order and collect service at its Ipswich Interchange store.

• Go Outdoors, Anglia Retail Park, Ipswich and Turner Rise Retail Park, Colchester

The outdoor equipment store reopened most of its stores at 10am on May 30, including its shops in Ipswich and Colchester. It has a wide range of bicycles as well as all its other usual stock.

• QD, various locations

Six stores owned by the discount retailer, in Stowmarket, Newmarket, Beccles, Clacton, Halstead and Saffron Walden, reopened from May 27, with various social distancing measures and strict limits on how many people can be in the stores at any one time. Its larger store in Hadleigh reopened earlier in May, as part of a pilot.

• H&M, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Colchester

The fashion chain will be reopening its stores on June 15.

• Greggs

The bakery chain plans to open 800 of its 2,000 stores during June, but has not yet confirmed the date. Greggs has five branches in Ipswich, two in Bury St Edmunds and one in Stowmarket.

• Adnams

Beer lovers can celebrate, as the brewer and retailer has now reopened its beerstores in Southwold, Woodbridge and Hadleigh. Dates for reopening its Aldeburgh shop and Southwold wine shop are still to be confirmed.

Independents

• Maud’s Attic, The House in Town, Revival @ Merchant House Interiors, Ipswich

The four family-owned shops in St Peter’s Street, including two premises of The House in Town, will all reopen on June 15, offering a range of quirky wares. They are all owned by the Childs-Manning family.

•Goslings Picture Framing and Artist Supplies, Sudbury

The independent shop selling a range of artists’ supplies has announced it will reopen on June 15, with restrictions in place and only a few customers allowed at any one time.

• The Italian Shirt Shop, Ipswich

The shop in St Peter’s Street is planning to reopen on June 15.

• Twist N Shout, Ipswich

The Carnaby Street-style fashion retailer is also planning to reopen on June 15. Its Facebook page said: “Sorry friends, but Twist N Shout Ipswich cannot open until Monday, June 15. I can’t wait to get back to work.”

• PC Wakeup, St Helen’s Street, Ipswich

This independent computer repair shop plans to reopen from June 15, with opening hours of 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday.

• Celebrations and Toys, Stonham Barns

The toy and gift shop and supplier of fairy and fairy garden products has reopened from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, with Sunday opening due to follow later in June.

• Celebrations and Gifts/ Stonham Post Office, Stonham Barns

This shop is already open four days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and will reopen from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, from June 15, with Sunday opening to follow later in June or July.

• Lavenham Butchers

The butcher has stayed open and is offering deliveries and collections for people who are isolating in the surrounding area, including Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds. It is open from 8.30am to 5pm from Tuesday to Saturday. For more details, visit lavenhambutchers.com

• Pile It High, Sudbury

A new discount store is opening in Sudbury on June 15, in the former Age UK shop in North Street. It will offer items including affordable PPE, hand sanitiser, sweets, grooming and cleaning products.

Shops which are already open

Essential retailers which have stayed open include:

Supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer Food Halls, East of England Co-op and Iceland and its Food Warehouse superstores.

Pharmacies have stayed open, while Wilko and Savers have both also remained open throughout lockdown, selling essential household items and toiletries.

The Range, B&M, Home Bargains and Pets at Home are all also open.

B&Q reopened its Ipswich store at Euro Retail Park in mid-April as part of a trial, and has since reopened 155 stores nationally, including Colchester, Chelmsford, Clacton and Basildon.

Poundland has kept a number of its stores operating, and its shops in Carr Street Ipswich, Martlesham Heath, Felixstowe, Bury St Edmunds, Sudbury Retail Park, Haverhill, Newmarket, Colchester Turner Rise Retail Park, Colchester Culver Street and Colchester St Johns are all currently open.

Garden centres

Some garden centres have been able to stay open right through lockdown because they have farm shops selling essential supplies, such as Laurel Farm Garden Centre and Victoria Nurseries in Ipswich. Tattingstone Garden Centre is another which has been able to stay open.

Others have recently reopened following the government’s earlier changes to lockdown, including Dobbies, which has reopened its stores at Bury St Edmunds and Woodbridge, Woodbridge-based Notcutts and Cherry Lane Garden Centres, which has stores in Carlton Colville and Long Melford.

• Is your shop open or preparing to reopen? Email suffolkweb@archant.co.uk to be added to this list.