Good start but opening up too slow for some
BUSINESS leaders across the South West spoke out yesterday in response to the lifting of lockdown restrictions – some hailing it a good start while others expressed deep disappointment at the slow pace of change.
The CBI South West said the proposals offer “hope” for the country – and for business, with Deborah Fraser, CBI South West Director calling it a “good starting point for the hard yards ahead.”
“Businesses in the South West back the step-by-step approach to re-opening and an end to damaging stop-start restrictions,” she said. “We now need to turn this roadmap into genuine economic momentum. The Budget is the second half of this announcement – extending business support in parallel to restrictions will give firms a bridge to the other side. This is particularly needed for sectors who will have to wait for up to three months to re-open and have an anxious 10 days ahead before the Budget.
But Raoul Fraser, founder of holiday park company Lovat Parks, which has three parks in Cornwall and one in the New Forest, said he was “extremely disappointed” his business would be unable to reopen for the Easter weekend, from April 2 to April 5. “We are very grateful for the government support over the past year and hope that our holiday parks will be able to re-open safely on April 12,” he said. “We have a number of Covid-19 safety measures in place which we did last year and our customers benefited from the fresh air and beautiful countryside. We are extremely disappointed that none of our customers are able to visit our parks for the Easter weekend.”
Hotelier James Brend, operator of Brend hotels that has 11 hotels, restaurants and golf courses in Devon and Cornwall took to twitter to call on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak for additional support for hospitality.
Holiday lets can reopen from April 12 but hotels will have to wait until at least May 17 until they can operate. He said: “Even thought it had already been leaked, it’s no less depressing having it confirmed that you can’t trade for another 84 days. Over to you @RishiSunak, a lot of hospitality businesses are hanging in the balance…”
The Bristol Hoteliers Association (BHA), which represents around 40 hotels in the city, said the roadmap would lead to more “short-term pain” for their businesses – but will “hopefully result in long-term gain”.
Raphael Herzog, chair of the BHA, said: “Once again, our plea for hotels to be treated fairly and equally to the likes of non-essential shops has been ignored. We have invested significantly in making our premises as Covid-safe as possible; it is safer to stay in a hotel having a drink at a table, with dinner served, than it is visiting a shopping mall or a grocery store.”
But Stuart Elford, chief executive of Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and chair of British Chambers of Commerce South West, welcomed the “roadmap” and said there must be no more “stop start” for the economy with further lockdowns.
But he added that it would have given businesses more confidence if the Prime Minister had outlined the economic support available now, rather than defer to the Chancellor’s Budget on March 3.
He said: South West businesses need to know whether business rates and VAT will be deferred, whether loan repayments will be deferred, and the furlough scheme extended, and whether “new grant and loan schemes will come in”.
“Businesses need to know now,” he said. “They are keen not to take on further debt and need confidence. Hospitality, leisure and tourism have suffered terribly, and we rely on them in the South West. This is why we want to know the package of support now, to prevent businesses folding. But a least the PM has given some idea of the minimum times we can expect to wait before certain types of businesses can open, because stop-start is damaging businesses. We need a plan out.”
Wedding planner Hazel Parsons, co-founder of Cornwall’s Out of the Ordinary Weddings, said couples who put marriage plans on hold, and businesses who depend on weddings, could now at least plan.