Under the rules set out by the Government in a 50 page document yesterday, people may travel within England and enjoy recreation in open spaces so long as they maintain social distancing.
Cllr Rob Nolan said: ’Whilst I am pleased that the Government has ruled out staying at second homes, holiday and other temporary accommodation such as Airbnb, like many other people I am worried the new guidelines will open the floodgates to day trippers visiting some of our popular tourist hotspots.
’Modern cars are fast and comfortable, and people can travel long distances in a day. The government needs to change their guidance to limit the distance people can travel or Cornwall could fast become a Covid-19 hotspot.’
Cornwall Council run car parks are still free at the moment and the Council said that the suspension of charges would ’be reviewed in line with government advice’.
Devon and Cornwall’s police force said it would be working through the details contained in the Government guidance and interpreting what it means for policing the next phase of lockdown.
Meanwhile Visit Cornwall boss Malcolm Bell said that while Boris Johnson had told people to use common sense, people ’have different views of what common sense actually means’.
’The advice about travel is confusing,’ he said.
’The Prime Minister has said stay at home as much as possible, but you can travel to spend time outside and exercise.
’Our fear is that people will want to drive considerable distances to walk on the beach.
’I would say it’s about being reasonable. It could be reasonable to drive for 30 minutes or less but it’s not reasonble to drive from Bristol to go to the beach in Cornwall. If you live upcountry you can exercise without travelling that far.
Another issue was that driving long distances would burn through lots of petrol and impact on the environment, he said, without any of the economic benefit to the region that would come through spending in the shops and hospitality businesses.
Mr Bell said that he was not looking for precise answers but that more guidance would be helpful, for instance on what watersports are deemed to be ok.
Clarification on such matters is also being sought by the RNLI in the South West, who currently have no lifeguard service in operation on beaches. The charity’s training and preparations were paused because of the pandemic. Water Safety lead Steve Instance said that lifeboats in the region had already seen a sharp increase in call outs in the past week, and he urged people to be ’very, very careful if they choose to come to the coast for exercise’.
Flags that are normally out to separate surfers from swimmers, and to help people avoid rip currents, will not be put out, he said.
’I’d want people to be asking is the beach really the place for them right now.’