48 TOURISM
TOUGH TIMES FOR HOSPITALITY
James Warburton is not sugar-coating how tough it is for a business like his.
The James’ Places operation he heads is one of the best-known hospitality brands in Lancashire.
It includes much sought-after Ribble Valley wedding venues, including Eaves Hall and the Shireburn Arms. Mitton Hall and Falcon Manor, North Yorkshire, are also in high demand in normal circumstances.
RIDING OUT THE STORM
The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has added its voice to the call for more help for tourist towns and seaside resorts.
The body, representing the local authorities of many of England’s visitor hotspots, wants the government to support local efforts to avoid “permanent scarring” as a result of the lockdown, and to protect the future livelihoods of workers reliant on busy summer months.
That includes ensuring sufficient funding for councils to help businesses, increasing future high streets funding for all towns, and expanding the hardship fund to respond to rising demand.
There’s a real risk that if they
don’t recover, our tourist towns could become ghost towns
It says “a short-term emergency intervention” now could secure the future of seasonal businesses and save jobs.
The organisation’s members include Ribble Valley, Lancaster, Fylde, Wyre, Pendle, Hyndburn, Burnley, West Lancashire, Chorley, South Ribble, and Preston councils.
Mark Crane, DCN lead member for stronger economies, says: “Some of our finest, most picturesque and beautiful tourist villages and towns, including those rich in cultural importance and heritage, face an unprecedented challenge.
“These are places dependent on seasonal demand in order to survive, which are usually guaranteed large numbers of visitors week in week out, but this year this is sadly unlikely to be the case.
“With people rightly staying away to minimise the spread of infection, this could have a devastating impact on many places that rely on the tourism industry.
“There’s a real risk that if they don’t recover, our tourist towns could become ghost towns. It will also put huge pressure on families suffering lost income and high unemployment.
“District councils know our businesses, our restaurants, our cafes and our attractions, and we know our residents.
“We are doing all we can to support them, but whatever the time of year our tourist towns will need further help and investment to ride out this storm.”
James Warburton
He explains: “We’ve tried to keep something going and we’ve had a good response from customers.
“It’s also a way of keeping our profile up. It’s a balancing act. We can’t furlough everybody. We have to try and keep the business there for when we come back.
“We have managed to furlough as many as we think we can. Everyone else is answering the phones and working on customer orders.”
He adds: “The key for us is a clear path out of lockdown, though we recognise that it is an awful lot to ask for.”
A date to work to would help, though James stresses he realises how difficult it is for the government to give any timetable for the end of lockdown.
He also adds: “What we are trying to achieve is a fraction of what the government is facing. We are keen to keep a sense of perspective.”
The company’s wedding team, who have not been furloughed, have been hard at work, moving and offering alternative wedding dates later in the year rather than cancellations. If the lockdown is eased couples will be able to go back to their original plans.
Then there is the iconic Bowland Brewery and the Holmes Mill venue in Clitheroe, with its hotel, popular beer hall and foodhall, showcasing very best of Lancashire’s food and drink producers.
With the country and the county in lockdown only the foodhall remains open – taking online orders for collection. The rest of the venues are shut, the brewery is silent and the majority of staff furloughed.
The business has seen a dramatic fall in turnover as a result. March, usually in six figures, was a fraction of that, James says – just the cash generated from keeping the food hall operational.
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