Welsh businesses fear
they could miss out to England if people travel over the border to celebrate
New Year due to Covid rules.
Nightclubs have closed and limits on who can meet
have been introduced in Wales, but in England, there are no plans to tighten
restrictions.
UK Hospitality said Welsh business had been hit significantly
worse than those in England.
The Welsh government said the rules were in place to
keep people safe.
Thousands of journeys are made across the 160-mile
border between Wales and England every day, but through large parts of the
pandemic, the rules on either side have been very different.
Now some pubs and cafes close to the border have
told BBC Wales they fear they will miss out on trade to rivals less than a mile
away in England many business listings.
Jess
Hope-Evans says the differing rules in Wales and England are an "ongoing
problem"
"The difference in rules between countries is
an ongoing problem," said Jess Hope-Jones, who owns an ice cream parlor in
Hay-on-Wye, which sits on the Powys side of the border.
"We struggle because we are so close to the
border, that it's confusing. One thing that's happened to us all the way
through the pandemic has to explain, "You're in Wales now".'
While she can keep the parlor open, she said
restrictions on numbers had created bottlenecks, while leaving doors and
windows open made trading during the winter difficult.
"People
are fed up with the restrictions and the fact you don't have to wear masks and
all of these things two miles away," she added business listings.
Wales moved to alert level two on 26 December following a rapid
rise in Covid case numbers,
with the first minister saying early action was needed to control the spread of
Omicron.
Groups of no more than six people are allowed to
meet in pubs, cinemas, and restaurants in Wales and nightclubs have been forced
to close.
Under the rules licensed premises have to offer
table service only, face masks have to be worn when customers are not seated,
and contact tracing details collected.
In contrast, pub, bar, and club owners in England
have said they have been offered a "lifeline" after UK Environment
Secretary George Eustice said evidence on Covid cases and admissions did not
support more interventions at the moment.
Mark
Finlay, operations manager for the Fat Boar Group, which owns pubs and
restaurants in Wareham and Flint shire, said he wanted to see the evidence
behind the Welsh government's latest restrictions.
The Welsh government's Technical Advisory Cell (TAC)
regularly publishes guidance, but it has not been publicly updated since 10
December.
Mr Finlay said he knew some regular customers would
be heading to nearby Chester - in England - to celebrate New Year's Eve free business listings.
"Customers are coming in but don't really know
what they can and can't do," he said.
"At least we are open now as opposed to last
year and we are still quite busy [but] we are getting a lot of cancellations.
"New Year will be the real test. There have
been a couple of comments from customers who say they will come here for a meal
and then make their way to Chester to celebrate properly - in their words. So
the new year countdown will be more sedate."
'They
will hop on a bus’s
Chris Evans, chairman of Saith Seren pub in Wrexham,
said it was "bizarre" that Wrexham football supporters could not support their team at
home games - but could at away games.
"People
naturally will hop on a bus from Wrexham and be in Chester in half an hour, so
that's what they are going to do on New Year's Eve," he said.
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