Scenes of 'squashed' shoppers at Bicester Village has led to calls for the luxury retail outlet to either shut or put 'proper' safety measures in place.
Bicester Village has now responded to the calls - read more here.
An online petition with an image of dozens packed into the outdoor shopping centre has already been signed more than 1,000 times.
Set up by Laura Wicks, she wrote: "I was disgusted to see the hundreds of people squashed into the street like Cornavirus never happened.
ALSO READ: Illegal rave shut down by police in Oxford
"As a nation we are all still under the 2 metre guidelines and as a company, Bicester Village have a responsibility to keep its staff safe."
She added: "It is horrendous that the people who work there are being forced into an unsafe environment when so many of them have family at home."
Ms Wicks demanded the village be shut 'until they have a solution to keep their staff or guidlines change'.
ALSO READ: Recycling site closed after 'large quantity' of asbestos dumped
The Bicester Village website urges shoppers to not queue in front of shops and restaurants but to use its 'digital queuing system' instead.
It states: "In order to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all and to respect the social distancing government guidelines, please may we respectfully ask you not to queue in front of the restaurants and boutiques.
"Our new Digital Queuing system is available in some boutiques."
The system allows someone to digitally reserve a place in the queue at selected boutiques by scanning a QR code at the boutique entrance, or by giving your name and mobile phone number to the boutique host.
People will then receive a text alert when it’s time to return to the boutique.
However, the app did not work today, meaning people had to queue outside anyway.
ALSO READ: Bicester Village's new safety measures
A member of staff, who has asked not to be named, said: "We’re having a few issues with the app not working which is causing people to queue but they are queuing outside where chance of transmission is lower and 2m stickers are in place.
"Stores are limited in numbers allowed inside with sanitation station freely available. People are free to make a choice. If they don’t feel comfortable with the crowds in a post Covid world they should stay away and monitor the R rate in a few weeks and re-evaluate."
Value Retail, which owns Bicester Village, has been contacted.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel