Lockdown rules a load of cobblers’, claims trader being left out of pocket

Regulations introduced after the arrival of the pandemic in March don’t class cobblers and locksmiths as essential services, unlike supermarkets.

That means that although David Welsh can repair shoes at his shop, Alexander Robertson’s in Horsemarket in Kelso, he can’t sell laces, polish and other items to customers. They are able to buy them at nearby supermarkets, however.

That’s an anomaly being queried by Kelso councillor Euan Robson, and he has written to Jamie Hepburn, the Scottish Government’s minister for business, fair work and skills, asking him to look at the rules again and add cobblers and key-cutting services to the list of trades categorised as essential.

Mr Welsh, a trader in the town for 25 years, said: “I can’t sell boot polish, laces, nothing.

“All I’m allowed to do is fix shoes and cut keys.

“Customers are coming in with a pair of shoes and they ask for a tin of polish and you have to say ‘sorry, I’m not allowed to’.

“Supermarkets can sell anything because they are classed as necessary and I’m not.

“I have gone to a lot of expense to fit screens and provide hand gel, and at first they actually recommended me to keep the doors locked. It needs to be highlighted what is happening to small businesses.

“The annoying thing is that you can go to Sainsbury’s and get laces and polish, so the small man is losing out again.

“Since we reopened a week past last Thursday, business has been poor. It has not really been worth opening, but luckily enough I’m not employing anybody and I’m only opening from 9am to noon.

“The shop has been here since 1935 and I have been here for 25 years. I just want the chance to start getting the business back on its feet, and this rule is stopping me doing that.”

Mr Robson said: “Robertson’s can repair shoes but can’t sell shoelaces or shoe polish over the counter, but not far away a supermarket is able to sell those items.

“What has happened is that in the list of essential services, cobblers and locksmiths were missed off the initial list in the schedule at the back of the regulations.

“I don’t think anybody did it deliberately, but the net result is that when you go into the shop to collect your shoes and ask if you can have a tin of polish, Mr Welsh has to say no.

“I’ve asked the relevant minister if he can do something about this because I don’t think anyone can object to a cobbler, or indeed a locksmith, being considered as anything but an essential business.

“With businesses reopening, every penny in the till counts.”

“Across Scotland, you’ve got in every sizeable town a cobbler’s and a locksmith, and it’s one of those trades you want to keep encouraging because in years to come, if you’re not careful, you will find they are gone.

“In particular, it’s the older generation that uses them and you want to ensure that people do repair and re-use.”