Freedom for some in great border divide

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford hopes his proposals for holiday parks to open at Easter will bring a much-needed boost to the Welsh tourism industry.

But he warned that until the UK Government relaxed the rules on the other side of the border, it would not be possible for people from England to take their holidays in Wales.

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Which means it could be some months yet before Dr and Mrs Middleton, who live just on the English side of the border in Oswestry, will be able to visit their caravan near Porthmadog.

The couple, who have had their caravan since 2012, said they were disappointed by the rules.

"It seems really arbitrary," said Mrs Middleton.

"If we lived a few miles down the road across the Welsh border we could go.

"Plus of course we will still have to pay site fees as the site will be open, just not to the English.

"We had intended taking our own food and keeping ourselves to ourselves, so no different to being at home. We feel it would have been safe for us, and we wouldn’t have been a threat to anyone else."

Mr Drakeford, who heads the Labour-run administration, announced the easing of lockdown measures yesterday, which will see the gradual reopening of the tourism industry.

People will be able to meet with friends as of today, and outdoor sports facilities such as golf course and tennis courts are now allowed to reopen.

From Monday hairdressers will be allowed to take customers, and supermarkets will be able to reopen aisles selling non-essential items.

But shops selling just non-essential items will remain closed until April 12.

Rachel Bates, who runs the Celtic Company card and gift shop in Welshpool, said she was disappointed her shop would not be allowed to reopen until next month.

“We were ready to open, we felt like we were safe enough to open but we aren’t able to open," she said.

"Both myself and my team are devastated to not be welcoming customers in sooner. Our small independent businesses in Wales will be non-existent if the government continues to favour the large retailers at the cost of the small."

Mr Drakeford said the measures, which would allow self-contained holiday homes to open from March 27, were subject to the number of infections continuing to drop.

"At Easter time, Welsh people will be able to travel for holidays over Easter within Wales, and to self-contained accommodation," he said.

But Mr Drakeford said that unless there was a change to the rules in England, it would not be possible for people to cross the border for holidays in Wales.

This would mean that while somebody in Cardiff would be able to travel 110 miles for holiday in Welshpool, somebody living 15 minutes away in Oswestry would not have the same opportunity.

"The rules in England will not permit that. The Prime Minister's road map says that for the weeks after March 29, people should minimise travel, there are to be no holidays, and people won't be allowed to stay away from home overnight.

"If it won't be safe to stay overnight in England, then obviously it would not be safe for people to travel into Wales."

He said he hoped people in England would be allowed to visit Wales by the summer.

Mr Drakeford said he would consider the possible reopening of pubs, restaurants and gyms next month.

Llanymynech Golf Club straddles the England-Wales border, with holes in both England and Wales.

Secretary Sian Whiteoak said she expected the club would be able to open again to members in Wales, but not those in England.

"It's a bit of an inconvenience, all our members will follow the guidelines that are in place in their local area," she said.

"We have some people who live in Wales, some who live in England, unfortunately that is the law.

"As far as we understand, we pay our rates to Powys County Council, none at all to Shropshire Council, so we will have to comply with the guidelines laid down by the Welsh Government."

Mrs Whiteoak said she expected some common sense would be applied when relating to the holes that were across the border in England.

"I wouldn't expect the police to be waiting by the tee-box at the fourth and seventh holes," she added.

Salop Leisure, which has holiday parks at Machynlleth, Shrewsbury and Worcester, welcomed news that its park in Wales would be allowed to reopen.

Managing director Mark Bebb said: “We are delighted that the First Minister has recognised the importance of tourism, especially the caravan industry, to the Welsh economy.

“We are pleased that Wales is being opened up to those living within the country, but we are disappointed that we are unable to open up our caravan parks fully to those living in England.

“However, we understand that the continued restrictions in England are vital in the fight against the pandemic.

"We very much look forward to April 12 when, hopefully, we will be able to get back to some form of normality.”

Haircuts

The more relaxed measures are good news for people finding themselves in need of a haircut following the prolonged lockdown period.

Sarah Williams, who owns The Hair Shop on Colliery Road in Chirk, said she would be open again for business on Tuesday.

She said she had been inundated with messages from customers desperate to book hair appointments.

"By 11am yesterday we were fully booked up all week and we are now getting bookings for a long way ahead," she said.

"It has quite shocked me that hairdressers and barbers can reopen but not non essential shops.

"But we are just so delighted to be opening again. Our staff and I have really missed our customers.

"We have invested a lot of money in PPE and methods to ensure social distancing.

"We are lucky in that we are in two shop units so we can have a side to come in and wait and then the other to have the hair appointment and to leave.

"But we still can't have as many customers as before."

Risk

Russell George, Tory member of the Welsh Parliament for Montgomeryshire, accused Mr Drakeford of a U-turn which he said would put jobs and livelihoods at risk across Mid Wales.

"Last month, the First Minister gave an indication that shops would be given the green light to resume trading at this review, but today he's bizarrely claiming he did no such thing," said Mr George.

"Today's change of mind reinforces the need for a clear long-term roadmap out of lockdown that helps protect jobs and cuts such confusion for families, workers and businesses in Wales.

"It is so frustrating for so many local businesses who had planned to open.

"Businesses in Wales have been closed longer than in other parts of the country."

Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, questioned the science and logic behind the decision to allow supermarkets to resume selling goods deemed non-essential from Monday yet keeping non-essential retailers, including many small businesses, shut until April 12.

“By keeping small retailers closed while allowing supermarkets to undercut them, Mark Drakeford and Labour are throwing many small shops and high streets under a bus," said Mrs Dodds.

“Mark Drakeford has been briefing for weeks that retail could open up after March 15.

"Businesses have been making preparations and incurring costs. This last-minute U-turn risks people’s businesses and livelihoods.

"The Welsh Labour Government has treated the High Street with complete contempt."

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said the Welsh Government had not given businesses sufficient notice so that they could prepare to reopen.

He also questioned whether it was the right time to be reopening to tourism.

“We now need a Wales-wide consultation with the tourism sector to establish whether it is viable for them to open to Welsh-domiciled customers only over Easter," he said.

“Case rates remain stubbornly high in many areas attractive to tourists and we must remember the huge pressures already facing local hospitals.

“After the sacrifices of the past year we should be putting families first and granting some limited extended freedoms for families to come together before tourism reopens.

“We all want the rules to be relaxed but what we want even more is for this to be the last lockdown, and to avoid another wave and further deaths in a few months."