This road map has given many sectors in Eastbourne clarity on how and when they can reopen, subject to tests being met, and I welcome this.
I understand the government has to be cautious as we cannot risk opening up only to enter another lockdown. I also very much welcome schools reopening and businesses support and furlough continuing.
However, this doesn’t stop real fears that businesses and jobs will be lost in Eastbourne and Willingdon before those dates to reopen come around for pubs and restaurants, for hotels, B&Bs, wedding venues, theatres and a host of other places.
My job now is to do all I can to help those businesses who are suffering access all the support and advice they need to get to their date and be able to open again.
We need VAT to remain at 5% and extra help with businesses rates, loans and grants to give as many businesses a chance as we can. I will continue to make the case for this support with the Treasury ahead of the budget.
With social contact still very restricted, these last weeks are going to continue to be undeniably hard for very many of us but we have an excellent vaccine roll out that seems to be cutting transmission and serious illness from covid.
We have better ways of treating covid patients; we have better testing. These are game changing positives that mean we can be optimistic that life will get back to normal by 21st June.
