We are hugely grateful again for the support, but we want to be part of the solution rather than receiving some handouts
For Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon, her priority is reopening the Highclere Castle estate along with other stately homes in order to help the UK’S service economy, and not to pin her hopes on government “handouts”.
“I’m not asking for handouts or saying poor me,” said Lady Carnarvon, who manages the Hampshire estate, which served as the setting for Downton Abbey.
“I’m just saying we would love to be part of the solution to build back better.”
Highclere, with 300 rooms and 1,000 acres, is both a tourist destination and wedding venue employing a small number of permanent staff, along with guides and summer workers.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday announced that furlough would be extended until September, and around 600,000 more self-employed people would have access to support, but Lady Carnarvon believes reopening will be the best way to guarantee employment.
“We’ve crashed the economy, and it’s a question of how badly scarred it is, how much will actually resurrect,” she said.
“We’ve also lost Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. It is quite devastating.
“Our turnover last year was probably 25 per cent or 20 per cent the previous year, which is fairly catastrophic for any business.
“It’s definitely going to take us at least five years to come back to 2019 levels of stability and our loans.”
She added: “We are hugely grateful again for the support, but we want to be part of the solution rather than receiving some handouts. Handouts will not necessarily save some businesses, but they might be saved if they were allowed to open a little.”