COVID-19: Air of revolt in Ribble Valley as region moves into Tier 3 - despite low level of cases
Business owners and the local MP are united in their dismay at the government's decision to place their area into Tier 3.
Tuesday 1 December 2020 22:16, UK
There鈥檚 an air of rebellion and revolt in Ribble Valley - they鈥檙e not happy in this rural district.
On Wednesday, like the rest of Lancashire, they'll come out of the national lockdown and into the strictest measures in England.
Many here are furious that they've been lumped into Tier 3, even though COVID-19 cases are way below the national average.
Local long-standing Conservative MP Nigel Evans is disappointed that the government has placed his constituency under the toughest measures.
Bashall Barn has not hosted a wedding since March. Since the start of the pandemic, the owners believe they've lost over a million pounds and being in Tier 3 will only add to that.
Rebecca Barnes, the wedding manager, says 80% of their family business comes from events.
She said: "We're facing at least 12 months of no income whatsoever and when you employ as many people as we do, we're very fortunate we have furlough, but furlough only runs until March.
"We're unlikely to see a wedding until May, June time at the earliest.
"We're just not sure what's going to happen to us all."
Ms Barnes added: "It's really tough and scary not knowing what the future will hold.
"Not just for us as a business, but personally, too. It feels like it's totally unfair."
Joseph's industrial laundry business relies on the hospitality sector to be running.
Without it, his finances are tumbling.
"We've got over £20,000 worth of linen sat here, which hasn't moved for months because of lockdown and I don't see it shifting any time soon," he told Sky News.
"The politicians down in London just don't get us up here, we're a small start-up business which is struggling during this pandemic and they're letting us slip through the gaps."
He added: "We were meant to have another 10 new starters starting here after the first lockdown, to service some contracts we picked up.
"We've had to turn around and say 'sorry, that's not going to happen anymore', because we've got put back into a tier system, then a month's lockdown and back into a tier system, and we can't operate like that."
Mr Evans has been an MP in this area for 28 years.
He is frustrated and disappointed with the government's latest decision and he has the support of many of his constituents, even if they know the decision of being in Tier 3 is set.
"It's really frustrating that the Ribble Valley, Chorley, Lancaster, and some other rural areas, they've got really low rates, and to treat the whole of Lancashire as one unit I think is completely wrong," he said.
"Yes we've got the data that we can look at, but what we need now is political nuance."