A TOWN councillor has protested against the “unfair” treatment of non-essential shops forced to close because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Shops deemed ‘non-essential’ were forced to close before Christmas, thanks to the introduction of Tier 4 restrictions across the borough.

It resulted in the closure of many of the town’s high-street shops, including the much-loved Elphicks department store in West Street.

But despite the rules being in place to curb the spread of Covid-19, Farnham town councillor George Hesse highlighted the ‘unfair’ treatment of these stores against those able to remain open, including garden centres and supermarkets.

Cllr Hesse said: “Government lockdown rules continue to unfairly discriminate against town-centre retailers by allowing supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers to open as normal and sell the same kind of merchandise our high-street shops would sell, if they were not forcibly closed.

“This cannot be right and very likely putting the final nail in the coffin of many independent retailers. Does the government really want our traditional town centres to die?”

The introduction of Tier 4 restrictions in Waverley came on Boxing Day, with Cllr Hesse highlighting the independent shops that had invested their resources in winter stock.

He said: “What is the difference, wearing a mask and social distancing, between buying an item of clothing from a shop in town and buying a similar item from an out-of-town supermarket or garden centre?”

Protests by the councillor outside Squires and Forest Lodge garden centres came before the government’s announcement of a national lockdown, but garden centres will still be able to remain open.