Tourism will be decimated by new lockdown, say bosses
Tourism businesses across north Wales say they will be decimated by the local lockdowns which sees Wrexham County Borough, Denbighshire and counties along the coast now subject to tough local restrictions.
The National Trust’s Chirk Castle and Erddig are now open only to those living within the county borough.
The trust has stressed its gardens remain open to residents of Wrexham County Borough and is urging local people to take the chance to go and visit the grounds of both properties and enjoy a more peaceful trip.
Other tourist attractions and the hospitality industry fear they will be crushed by the lockdown.
Mr Jim Jones from North Wales Tourism said businesses had invested time and gone to extraordinary measures to be Covid-compliant and make everybody safe.
He said: “All of a sudden they’ve got to cancel bookings and tell visitors to go home. Our businesses are yet again about to be decimated.”
Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes, whose constituency includes Chirk, the Ceiriog Valley and villages on the north Shropshire border, says he believes the restrictions on travel are disproportionate.
He signed a letter with other north Wales MPs whose areas are affected.
He said: “The general public is understandably frustrated as we enter the seventh month of pandemic restrictions and scepticism of the value of the restrictions has risen.
“It is our responsibility as elected members to defend public health measures where they are necessary to protect our vulnerable members of society.
"However decisions must be seen to be made on hard evidence and to be proportionate take into account the negative as well as positive impacts.”
However the leader of Wrexham County Borough council, Councillor Mark Pritchard said: “It’s a balance between people’s health and the economy, and we have to do everything we can to get it right. These measures will be kept under constant review.”
