Businesses react as Northamptonshire set to drop into Tier Three starting on Boxing Day

Northamptonshire's businesses have not even been given two working days to put their lives in order ahead of the county dropping into Tier Three restrictions on Boxing Day.

The county will ratchet up into tougher restrictions as of 00:01am on December 26 following a Government announcement this afternoon (Wednesday).

Tier Three is the toughest set of restrictions applied to "very high" risk areas and forces many businesses to shut unless they can provide a takeaway service or click-and-collect.

Stewart Wright, who owns Nuovo on Abington Street, said he was gutted to be shutting down again with lots of bookings for after Christmas having to be cancelled.

"It's one of those things isn't it," he told the Chronicle & Echo.

"Everybody in town thought it was inevitable and those in hospitality knew we needed to lock down, it's just a shame we can't find a way to all be in it together like we were in the beginning.

"We go to great efforts to make sure we are as Covid-secure as we can be and more secure than the places that spread it more but we're the ones sitting at home."

Even being able to do takeaways is not the lifeline it seems as Mr Wright said the market is so saturated that it is hard to make it worthwhile.

Frankie Jackson, owner of the Dodford Grange Bed & Breakfast, told the Chron she now faces phoning a family who had a wedding planned before New Years that they will now have to cancel.

She said: "Tier two wasn't so bad but I think Tier Three is going to be much harder.

"We were expected a Boxing Day lockdown, so it's maybe not surprising. But it's so frustrating when you order stock in and then all of a sudden, 'oops', now you've got to throw it out.

"It's an awful thing to hear. All we can do is try and stay positive. At least we're safe."

Ruby & Claret, a wine bar and bistro in Earls Barton, which moved to a bigger premises at the start of this month, will now have to close once again.

Clare Deer, owner of the wine bar, said: "It is what it is, it's a difficult one.

"Obviously we are disappointed, especially so soon after opening to be in this situation.

"But as always the safety of our customers is paramount and if the Government thinks it's a serious situation we are happy to follow the guidance.

"We will continue with bottle sales and do what we can in the mean time.

"We will try and focus on the positives and hopefully the community will rally behind us."

Terry Steers, landlord at St Giles Ale House told the Chron: "I was shocked we didn't go into tier four.

"The frustration from us yet again is how busy the shops are allowed to be while hospitality closes again..

"And the fact that over the last few days we have had so many people from surrounding tier three areas coming here for shopping shows the selfishness of the public.

I fully expect to be in tier four for the whole country by Jan 1st."

Northants was placed in Tier Two when the new system was announced last month. A review was promised within two weeks where many areas hoped to be downgraded.

But numbers of positive Covid-19 tests — particularly in older age groups — hospital admissions and deaths among coronavirus patients means the situation is now worse in Northamptonshire than it was when the second national lockdown was announced on November 2.