Romford businesses which will be legally able to trade at full capacity from Monday have said safety must come first.

On July 19, coined Freedom Day, the government is set to relax all Covid-19 restrictions for the first time since March 2020.

Communications manager at the Coral Romford Greyhound Stadium, Lacey Moran, said the venue is looking forward to welcoming people back.

Although it reopened on May 17, it will now be able to allow a larger number of people to attend.

Lacey said: “We will be capping our capacity at 680 to ensure that the stadium remains a safe environment.

“We can’t wait to welcome more people back and get back to a bit of normality. However, we will continue to have the best interests of our customers and staff at heart and want to ensure that they are kept safe.”

The Grove Banqueting wedding venue in Harold Hill will be able to hold weddings which fulfil many couple's wishes of a large celebration.

Events manager at the venue, Dhiran Nardhearm, said: “We understand that the pandemic is still not over and we are prepared to take precautions for the people who are still worried about Covid.

“We are also excited to welcome more people to our venue, following the guidelines provided to us.

“It is exciting that we can facilitate more guests and hold bigger events within the wedding industry and it will be great to hopefully see a boom in business.”

Carol Lawrence, hands-on director at Harold Wood Funeral Services, said the company will be carrying on exactly as it has been and making sure to adhere to the “hands, face, space” guidance.

She said: “We will be keeping numbers low and using the benefits of technology to allow our clients the opportunity to do slide shows, voice and video recordings, all of which can be played at our funerals.”

The funeral director will also be keeping partitions which have been installed into the passenger limousines and sticking to an appointment-only booking system.

Artistic director at the Brookside Theatre, Jai Sepple, said: “We will still be doing everything we can to keep our patrons, friends and casts safe, but we are thrilled to be able to open, once more, at full capacity and can’t wait to welcome people back to the theatre.”