Share your good news stories with us as lockdown restrictions start to ease in Dacorum

Why not get involved in the Hemel Gazette's Happy Returns feature? We’d be delighted to hear details of how businesses and the community are emerging from the restrictions of the pandemic.

It might be news of a business relaunching, your youth sports team resuming its matches, how your school is coping with the ongoing challenges, how your club or society is ditching Zoom and is looking to meet face-to-face again, or any events and activities we all took for granted slowly returning.

This is a great chance to tell your story over the coming weeks and months ahead. Submit 100-300 words to this newspaper on how the pandemic has had an impact, how you’ve kept going and most importantly news of your ‘Happy Return’ when it’s deemed safe.

We’d also love to receive photos of those joyful reunions/reopenings. Please send all details to [email protected] or [email protected].

Here’s a reminder of the remaining roadmap steps.

> From April 12, non-essential retail, hairdressers and public buildings can open. Also outdoor settings like alcohol takeaways, beer gardens, zoos and theme parks can welcome visitors. Indoor leisure like swimming pools and gyms can open. Funerals can continue with up to 30 people, and weddings up to 15 guests.

> From May 17, ‘rule of six’ abolished for outdoor gatherings and replaced with a limit of 30 people. Two households can mix indoors - with the rule of six applied in hospitality settings like pubs. Cinemas hotels, performances and sporting events can reopen. Up to 30 people will be able to attend weddings, receptions, funerals and wakes.

> From June 21, all legal limits on social contact is intended to be removed, with the final closed sectors of the economy reopened.