PUBS, restaurants and hotels across the region were plunged into uncertainty once again on Saturday when Nicola Sturgeon announced a level 4 lockdown of mainland Scotland from Boxing Day.
The announcement came just over a week after Dumfries and Galloway’s hospitality industry returned to relative normality, having moved into level one restrictions on Friday December 11.
But the First Minister’s decision to “act firmly” and close all non-essential businesses will see publicans, who just two weeks ago rushed to replenish stocks, shut up shop until further notice.
Stephen Montgomery, owner and manager of Lockerbie’s Townhead Hotel and the Jolly Harvester in Dumfries, said: “We thought we had made so many great moves and to be hit with that at the weekend was just a disaster.
“It was a shock, but if the new strain is as bad as what they’re saying then we obviously have to take measures to give us some kind of future. But at the same time, if you look at level one areas such as Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands and Islands where hospitality is open, the numbers continue to fall, and if you look at hospitality in tier three areas like Ayrshire right the way across the central belt where hospitality is predominantly shut because it’s unviable, numbers keep rising, so it begs the question where is the problem? Is it retail? Is it our ram-packed stores where people aren’t social distancing?
“I don’t know, but I’m really heartbroken for people in Dumfries and Galloway.”
Stephen, who is also the spokesperson for the Scottish Hospitality Group, added: “Everybody in hospitality was geared up for the future, geared up to get some money through the door to pay the bills we should have been paying in October and November.
“I feel sorry for the staff, the morale has gone right down again, but I would ask everybody – all staff in all of hospitality – to stick with it, we will be back for a brighter 2021.”
In a statement, the Riverside Tap in Dumfries said: “We believe that the lockdown is the right thing to do in the circumstances, although the team will miss you while closed. We plan to make good use of this time by working hard on several new projects to further enhance your experience at Riverside Tap and hit the ground running when we are allowed to reopen.”
South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth called the changes “a bitter blow” for the region’s hospitality and retail businesses, adding that many traders will face permanent closure as a result of the stringent measures.
He said: “The new strain of Covid-19 is concerning and while people fundamentally understand why a new lockdown is required, it hasn’t been handled well by both of our governments who have left this announcement to the last minute, causing the maximum disruption.”
