Coronavirus: Nene Valley Railway appeals for donations to survive, Queensgate ends late night shopping, mosques suspend services

The steam attraction in Peterborough has suspended its services, meaning the charity is relying on the goodwill of the public to keep going.

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It is also asking residents who have pre-purchased tickets to donate the costs.

The popular attraction said: “In light of the current government advice we have made the difficult decision to suspend our normal services.

“Whilst we have no reported cases of Covid-19 we take the health and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and volunteers seriously, which has led us to make this decision.

“Due to this we need your support at this difficult time. The NVR have opened a donation fund. By donating to the fund you will be helping to ensure the survival of the NVR.

“The NVR, being a registered charity, is supported by donations and the running or trains to bring in revenue. At the current time we are not able to run trains.

“If you have pre-purchased tickets for NVR services and wish to donate the ticket costs to the NVR this would be most appreciated.

“Please visit our website to find out how you can help or click this link to donate https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/164//.

“While the closure is temporary, there is no guarantee when the railway will be able to reopen.

“Thank you for your support.”

Queensgate Shopping Centre is remaining open, but late night shopping is being suspended while a number of stores have closed.

A spokesperson said: “During this difficult time, we wanted to reassure all our customers that we are closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation. Our priority at all times is the health and wellbeing of our customers, our retailers and employees.

“In line with Government guidance, our centre remains open, however, effective from March 23 we will temporarily no longer open later for late night shopping until further notice.

“We continue to work with all of our retailers throughout this challenging period to maintain our consistently high standards and where possible maintain opening hours – please note the opening times of individual stores may vary and the following stores have made the decision to close; The Disney Store, Pret, Clarks, MAC, Little Miracles Sensory Room, Sky, Virgin Travel and Elsa Rose.

“In addition to this Greggs, McDonalds and Costa will be operating a takeaway only service.

“We are working closely with our cleaning service provider to ensure best practice is followed and have implemented an enhanced cleaning regime throughout the centre. We encourage our visitors to follow the Government’s advice to frequently wash their hands.

“In the interest of our customers safety and in line with social distancing advice we have taken the decision to suspend all in centre events effective immediately.

“You will appreciate that matters concerning Covid-19 are fast-moving. We will continue to follow advice from the NHS, the Government and the World Health Organization and will keep our customers updated of developments via our various digital communication channels.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding at this time.”

Meanwhile, all mosques in Peterborough are suspending services, including five daily prayers and Friday congregation, for the general public.

The latest coronavirus articles and information can be found on the Peterborough Telegraph’s new Facebook group called ‘Peterborough coronavirus latest news’ at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/818526555281397/.