Tim Bonner: Reopening the countryside

On Monday the government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which had immediate implications for visitors to the countryside and a range of rural activities including fishing, riding and wildlife management. We have issued full guidance which we will continue to update as the strategy develops.

One of the most difficult challenges the government - and those of us living in rural communities - will have to face, is balancing the understandable concerns about the risks of the virus with the necessity of reopening the countryside and, in particular, the tourism industry which is so crucial to the rural economy.

People have every reason to be concerned about the spread of the virus - especially if they live in parts of the countryside with limited healthcare provision - but the lockdown has started to be eased in England. People may now travel any distance to the countryside to exercise and, in England, the government has set a provisional date of 1st June for the next step in removing some social restrictions. The final stage of the recovery plan - including the reopening of hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities - could start on 4th July. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations have published their own plans and are currently taking a more cautious approach to the easing of restrictions.

Reopening rural businesses to meet what will, undoubtedly, be high demand for UK holidays in the late summer and autumn, will be crucial for their survival. When the advice is that it is safe, the countryside needs to be ready to embrace the opportunity that visitors will bring.

Meanwhile, it is a relief to many of us that we can now visit the riverbank or lake to fish, go for a hack or take to the woods to manage deer. The Alliance is working very closely with colleagues in other organisations to ensure as smooth as possible return to normality for rural activities and, in particular, that if restrictions allow, all the necessary steps have been taken to allow game shooting and hunting to start later in the year. There will be plenty of precedents as shooting grounds are already re-opening and racing is currently scheduled to restart on 1st June in England. We will, however, be making sure that our activities have clear and practical protocols to ensure that they can be carried out safely and in line with whatever social restrictions are in place, and that those plans have approval form the relevant government departments.