Harrogate hotels boss issues stark warning to avoid a 'horrendous' and 'devastating' second lockdown

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Simon Cotton, the group managing director for HRH Group, said everyone had to be mindful of the consequences if Harrogate was to be hit by a second lockdown.

Mr Cotton said: “My serious concern is how would Harrogate fare if a local lockdown rule was introduced and what impact could this have?

“In my opinion, it would be nothing short of devastating and I would urge people to think about the consequences of businesses having to shut their doors for a second time.

“The Government has made it clear that, this time around, there would be no second furlough scheme which has protected so many jobs up until now.

“With this due to end in its entirety next month, I think the loss of jobs in Harrogate’s hospitality sector alone, would be horrendous.”

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Mr Cotton, who is in charge of the White Hart Hotel, the Yorkshire Hotel and the Fat Badger bar, said he was keen not to be “alarmist” but added it was essential Harrogate redoubled its efforts on matters such as social distancing to prevent what would be a far worse alternative.

He said: “Personally, I think it was inevitable that there would be a rise in the number of recorded cases once lockdown was lifted, despite social distancing rules.

“It is only human instinct to want to interact and socialise with friends and family and people were clearly craving that when restrictions were lifted in July. I’m not an alarmist and don’t get over dramatic about situations, but I firmly believe there’s certainly some cause for concern and I believe everyone in Harrogate has a duty of care right now to not only protect people’s health and well being, but also to help protect our local economy.”

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He added that although Harrogate had done a good job in dealing with the Covid pandemic in general, efforts to stay safe had to be stepped up to avoid the town turning into another

Bolton which has this week seen its hospitality sector closed down once again.

“Now is the time to act,” he said. “The vast majority of people have been very good at respecting the rules, but I think we’ve all heard stories of those that have pushed the boundaries behind closed doors. We’ve seen the reality of what’s happened in Bolton.

“We need to review our practices, review our procedures and review the number of guests in our venues. Let’s keep the better times going, but safely and sensibly.”

Bolton has been placed under a further strict localised lockdown after a “very significant” spike in coronavirus cases, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced.

Hospitality venues such as pubs and restaurants are being restricted to take away only, while late night restrictions have been placed on businesses meaning all must close from 10pm to 5am.

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It has also been made illegal for people to socialise with anyone outside their household after the Government turned previous advice into law. All changes take effect “immediately”, the health secretary said.

Mr Hancock said the updates were being made to stem the spread of coronavirus following a “very significant rise in cases” related to young people attending pubs. Bolton is up to 120 cases per 100,000 of population, the highest case rate in the country.