OUR LIVING
be closed again later in the year.”
Mr Sharp retains hope, but not much: “There’s some talk that pubs might be open by August. If that’s the case then we will have a chance. If not we’ll have to go to the bank to borrow money, and I don’t want to do that.”
For one man, seeing his beloved New Quay reduced to its current state is nothing short of tragic.
“It’s a ghost town, it’s like a morgue with lights,” said Dan Potter, county councillor for the area, town councillor, former town mayor and RNLI volunteer.
“At this time of year, with this sunshine, it would be packed, so it’s difficult to see it like this.
“The community here has really worked hard to safeguard itself, and the people here have done everything they can to help. We’ve had a few people who do think that they are better than the law, but in the main people have stayed away.
“A lot of people are concerned that if lockdown is lifted, will people flock to the town? We have everything in place if we do have a big spike, but prevention is better than cure. However, it’s true that we depend on tourism; without tourism this town is nothing. If businesses cannot afford to pay their rent then they will have to close. That’s the last thing we want to see.”
Can New Quay survive this? Can a town reliant on summer survive without one? Yes it can, thinks Mr Potter.
“Next summer I do see things returning to normal, providing there is a vaccine in place. But until then it will be really difficult. If I’m honest, I see the social distancing side of things continuing for years.
“It’s not that we don’t want tourists to come down here; we want them to come here more than ever because the town relies on people coming here, but we have to safeguard the locals. By next summer, hopefully, it will be safe for people to return.”
On the outskirts of the town sits Pencnwc Holiday Park. Last year it celebrated 50 years as a family business, one that has thrived since the late 1960s. Until now.
Tomas Davies and his brother Daniel are the third generation of their family to run Pencnwc, and like everybody else, they had no idea what was to come when they planned ahead for this summer.
“We bought 25 new caravans for hire, ready for this year – they haven’t even been used,” said Mr Davies.
“We had bookings throughout the season but we’ve just had to cancel. At the moment we’ve cancelled everything up until mid-June but things are changing all the time.”
Mr Davies said there had been talk within the caravan park trade that holiday sites such as Pencnwc might be able to reopen in stages. The first stage would see caravan owners be permitted to return, the second would see holidaymakers rent caravans while social distancing and isolating within them, and the third stage would see park facilities reopen.
If and when any of these stages can be implemented is anyone’s guess.
Candidly, he added: “The biggest danger for us is that we have to remain shut for the whole summer and then we are free to open at the end of it, by which time it will be too late for us to make any real money.
“We might have a situation where we face three winters in a row in terms of our incomings: last winter, what we’re living through right now, and the winter that is to come.
“We are obviously going to lose money but we need support, and every business is hoping that there will be some flexibility with regards to the furlough scheme. In an ideal world it would be nice to have support until March 2021.”
Amid the gloom, there is hope for Mr Davies. That hope stems from the factfac that people across Wales and the whole of the UK will be in need of a holiday like never before when wh the severity of this situation su subsides, and New Quay, an att attractive destination at the best of times, might then become ev even more seductive to those de desperate for a break.
“People will always want a holid iday, but the airlines are saying it co could be years until they get back to normal, so from our point of vi view, we might be where they c come to.
“Potentially, you can go on h holiday within the UK and maintatain tain social so distancing. You can’t do th that on a plane.”
One man who has helped Mr Davies through these tumultuous times tim is Ceredigion MP Ben Lake, who wh has been in regular dialogue with businesses bu in New Quay as he appreciates ci the gravity of the situation facing in one of his constituency’s jewels. He said it feels “eerily strange” to see New Quay like this, but, at the same tim time, it is a sight which fills him with hope for the future.
““It is a source of considerable pri pride that people across the cou county have observed the social dis distancing measures and ad adhered to the lockdown restrictio tions so well,” said Mr Lake.
“The fact that New Quay is still qu quiet is testament to the comm mitment of local residents and bu businesses to keep the communi nity safe. Their desire to cooperat ate for the benefit of the community’s well-being is heartening.”
Mr Lake said: “It is a very challenging time for our towns. It is already accepted that n nobody should be punished for doing doin the right thing and for protecting the wellbeing of the community, and support packages should be in place for the duration of restrictions and open to all businesses.
“However, for many businesses in New Quay and in the tourism and hospitality sector especially, business may not return to anywhere approaching normality until next year, and so the Government should also explore ways of supporting them to survive until such a time that they can reopen safely again.”
Despite the fact that Covid-19 has thus far failed to penetrate the town of New Quay, it is clear that its people are already exhausted by it.
For now, the usual mix of summer joy and sea air in this beautiful seaside town has been replaced by an atmosphere laced with uncertainty and dread about what is to come, both in terms of health and economics.
The people who live and work here are determined to bring New Quay back, whenever that may be.
RESTAURANTS AND COVID-19: PAGES 22&23