Beauty spots urge non-locals to stay away
BOSSES at two popular beauty spots in Derbyshire have issued warnings to visitors to stay away if they are not local.
Both the National Trust which runs Calke Abbey, near Ticknall, and Severn Trent Water, which owns Foremark Reservoir, are urging people to stay away if they are travelling from outside the area during lockdown restrictions.
It comes after police visited both venues and handed out fines to people breaching the Covid rules on staying local for exercise.
This sparked an outcry with Derbyshire Constabulary criticised for being “heavy handed”. Some fines were later quashed and Derbyshire’s police and crime commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa has said police had been “too eager” to hand out fines.
Visitors to Calke Abbey have reported being fined for breaching lockdown rules, with officers warning that even a 10-minute drive could result in a £200 penalty.
Derbyshire police say visitors to Calke Abbey from Burton, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire will be fined if caught at the National Trust property – as this is deemed to not be local for them.
Officers have been patrolling the grounds and say they have issued hundreds of pounds of fines to visitors from outside Derbyshire, telling them to stay in their local area and use their own green spaces.
Residents living near the country estate claim walkers are clogging up their village with parked cars to “get around” Covid restrictions at the venue.
“Local” is defined as within your own village, town or part of the city where you live, although there has been criticism, including from top police officers, that this is too “woolly”.
A National Trust spokesperson said: “The outdoor spaces we care for in England, including Calke Abbey, remain open for local visitors to access in line with government guidance.
“We urge everyone to follow government guidance on travel and to keep to their local green spaces for exercise.
“Refunds are available to those who have already booked a visit and are not local to the area.”
Foremark Reservoir also recently made the news.
Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore drove less than eight miles from their homes in Ashby to Foremark Reservoir where they were met by police officers who dished out fines on the grounds that they broke lockdown.
The pair said they were left in disbelief and felt they had not broken any rules when officers from Derbyshire Constabulary started to read them their rights. Officers said the journey, which happened on Wednesday, January 6, was unnecessary and fined both women on the spot. Their fines were later rescinded.
Bosses at Foremark have said the site still remains open, but added: “This site will remain open for local people to exercise. The Government has defined local as the village, town, or part of a city where you live. Please do not travel to a site if it’s not local to where you live.
“It’s really important to protect the safety and wellbeing of all our visitors, local communities and our teams, so we urge everyone to stay local, observe social distancing and follow any measures we have put in place if you visit a reopened site.”