‘IT’S A CASE OF SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR’
LOCKDOWN FOR PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES STRADDLE TWO NATIONS
IN THE border town of Chepstow, the main shopping area of High Street remains largely empty and quiet.
For seven weeks, residents have been heeding advice to “Stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives”.
They have been adjusting to new working arrangements, or being on furlough, and self-isolating with their families during the pandemic.
Just over half a mile from High Street are the villages of Sedbury and Tutshill, both in England.
From yesterday, residents of Sedbury and Tutshill were expected to adhere to England’s new “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives” message, along with a whole host of different rules about work, exercise, and schools set out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday.
People there and across the border in Chepstow, whose lives straddle two nations, are having to adjust to the slowly widening gap between Welsh Government lockdown measures and the UK Government restrictions.
The Welsh Government’s overarching advice remains to stay at home, although modest adjustments to lockdown rules – like being permitted to exercise more than once a day, and garden centres being allowed to reopen – were announced last Friday by First Minister Mark Drakeford.
Evelyn Williams owns Mucky Pups dog grooming boutique in Chepstow’s town centre.
Evelyn said she has opened up her shop with social distancing measures in place but is worried some of her clients who live in England may not be able to come to her shop.
“It’s absolutely crazy as I travel from Newport every day to open up the shop, yet people only two minutes across the bridge can’t come over to use the service,” she said.
“It’s a case of so close, yet so far and I don’t really think anyone understands exactly what we can and can’t do right now.
“We’ve opened back up here and are working under the social distancing measures, but for other businesses in Chepstow who are thinking of doing the same it’s tough because a lot of our clients who come in from England are now being told they can’t.
“Staff will be affected as well if they have to commute back and forth, so it really is a mess.”
On Sunday Mr Johnson announced plans to ease lockdown restrictions in England, which came into force yesterday. Under that new guidance, those who cannot work from home will be encouraged to return to work if they can do so without using public transport, while those who can work from home should continue to do so.
The PM also confirmed plans for children to begin to return to school in England from June 1, starting with reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in primary school, while secondary schools and further education colleges are preparing for face-to-face contact with Years 10 and 12.
The “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” slogan has also been dropped by the UK Government in favour of the new “stay alert, control the virus, save lives”.
In contrast, the Welsh Government’s message has continued to be “stay at home”, and Wales’ Education Minister Kirsty Williams has clarified that Welsh schools will not be reopening on June 1.
Cassie Stephens, 29, makes the commute across the border from her home in Newport to Tutshill every day, where she works in a local offlicence.
“To be honest I don’t fully understand what I’m expected to do at the moment as I work across the border in Gloucestershire and will be given shifts as normal,” Cassie said.
“My workplace is fully open again now, and with bills to pay it is important for me to get back to work.
“It has been difficult as a lot of public transport has been cancelled or severely reduced, which means I have to walk from Chepstow every day, which is quite long.
“But with so much up in the air, I’m really not sure what the right thing is to be doing.
“What makes it worse is that it’s so close, and while I understand people want to keep themselves safe, the fact that they’ve relaxed the rules in England and not in Wales has put me in a really awkward position.
“I think it is a bit unfair, and there needs to be something done to make sure people in this country are all aligned on what’s going on during such a difficult period.”
One of the biggest conflicts is set to be the rules over exercise.
The Prime Minister has told people in England they can drive to exercise but the Welsh Government does not want people in England driving into Wales to do that.
This could cause real issues in another border community, Redbrook, because the Offa’s Dyke Path and the Wye Valley Walk run through the village and it is a hotspot for walkers and cyclists.
The main car park is on the English side and run by the Forest of Dean District Council.
It is closed for now but under the PM’s guidance it could re-open to allow people to explore the countryside.
But Welsh politicians have made it clear they would not want anybody arriving by car and then walking over the railway bridge to exercise in Wales.
And it could also impact on families as relatives often live on different sides of the English-Welsh border.
One person in Chepstow summed it up when they pointed out that their daughter living in Tutshill, a Gloucestershire village many consider to be a suburb of the Welsh town, could visit them under the guidelines announced for England.
However, Welsh law bans them from visiting her in Tutshill.
Armand Watts is the local councillor for Chepstow’s Thornwell ward, and lives in the town with his partner and children.
Armand, 52, said many children living in Chepstow normally attend schools which come under English jurisdiction.
“What happens when you have some children in England going back to school and then in Wales they won’t make a decision on it?”
he said.
“Say the First Minister decides, ‘Hang on a minute, politicians aren’t allowed to go back to work, you or I can’t go back to work, so why is it all right that children are sent back to school and teachers are exposed to that potential risk?’
“I think this is where it becomes slightly more fractious and concerning, rather than just confused.”
Peter Moon is owner of Moon & Co estate agents, in the town centre.
Peter said he is aware some estate agents in England are planning to begin allowing viewings of unoccupied properties, but he is still unable to do so.
“My office is 300 yards from the English border,” Peter said. “A good 30 or 35% of our properties that we sell or rent are in England but we are physically in Wales.
“As far as we’re concerned viewing houses isn’t essential.
“We had a conversation with someone last week who is in an abusive relationship and desperate to view a rental property but we can’t because we aren’t allowed to.
“There’s this mixed message that’s coming over between England and Wales.”
Peter said half of his staff are currently on furlough, with the other half working from home.
He said some staff who live in England have occasionally needed to come into the office to pick up post.
“Are they allowed to do that?” Peter said. “I presume so but then you have the Welsh Government saying ‘don’t come into Wales’. It’s very unclear.”
The former railway bridge across the river Wye at Redbrook, which is now a popular footpath, is a visible sign that this is a border community.
There are two pubs, one at each end of the bridge, The Bell in Redbrook itself and The Boat, a riverside pub which is officially addressed as Penallt in Wales.
Boris Johnson has told the landlord of The Bell he might be able to open in some capacity in July subject to certain conditions being met.
But the owners of The Boat have not been given any hope by First Minister Mark Drakeford, who updated the coronavirus advice in Wales on Friday.
If this carries on villagers might end up being able to use one local this summer, but not the other.
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “The situation for schools in Wales will not change on 1 June.
“This week the Minister for Education will issue a working document which will set out next steps for education in Wales, this will include how key decisions will be reached and who will be providing advice on those decisions.
“We continue to be guided by the very latest scientific advice and will only look to have more pupils and staff in schools when it is safe to do so. We will, of course, need to ensure that social distancing requirements can be adhered to.
“Any decision to increase the operation of schools will be communicated well in advance. We are working closely with local authorities to ensure that schools are supported in this preparation work.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “We have confronted this virus as one United Kingdom and have worked closely with the devolved administrations every step of the way.
“However, the virus has spread at different rates and the response needs to be flexible and to move at slightly different speeds across the UK.
“The UK Government is supporting the devolved governments with unprecedented testing, funding and logistical support from our armed forces.”