Sheer folly to let people swarm over countryside, says senior MP
ALLOWING PEOPLE to flock to the countryside and coast could be “sheer folly”, a veteran Tory MP has warned, calling on visitors to stay away from his constituency.
Authorities responsible for beauty spots including the Yorkshire Dales have already expressed concern about the prospect of visitors returning in large numbers.
Now Sir Roger Gale, representing North Thanet, has accused the Prime Minister of acting in a premature way by lifting travel restrictions.
He said: “I believe the ‘drive to wherever you want to take exercise’ advice from the Government is premature and possibly sheer folly.
“I want the seaside towns that I represent to be able to welcome people with open arms again – as we have always done in the past – but we need to take baby steps
towards reopening, not a leap in the dark.
“Get this wrong and we could be worse than right back where we started. Get it right and we could be back in business in time for the real summer holidays.”
The coming weekend will be the first since coronavirus rules were changed to allow day trips to the countryside.
Some of England’s national parks have already made clear their unease about the plans.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s chief executive David Butterworth has previously said the Government’s approach to reopening the countryside was not one it had advocated.
He said: “We, along with many organisations with countryside facilities, have advocated a staged approach with an initial ‘stay local’ message to avoid unnecessary travel and minimise any tension between visitors and local communities.”
Lake District National Park Authority chief executive Richard Leafe said: “For now, we’re asking people not to rush back to the Lake District – help protect our communities. The fells will still be here when this passes.”
The Woodland Trust, which looks after more than 1,000 woods across the UK, is also encouraging people to stay local to enjoy nature this weekend.