Tier three announcement reaction: Glamping retreat owners on Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border now face refunding more than £17k worth of Christmas bookings

The owners of a glamping retreat on the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border are now having to face refunding more than £17,000 worth of Christmas booking due to the continued tier 3 restrictions.

Earlier today (Thursday, December 17) it was announced that Warwickshire will now be in tier three over the Christmas and New Year period.

Many businesses have hit out against this decision, including the owners of Winchcombe Farm near Stratford.

The business is once again forbidden from opening during one of their busiest periods, despite being 200 yards away from a Tier 2 area.

Jo Carroll, co-owner of Winchcombe Farm, said: “We are completely unsurprised and underwhelmed to find ourselves once again placed in tier 3, despite continuing to have a low infection rate in our area.

"The shambolic way the tier is managed fails to take into account any element of common sense.

“We are continually told that they are guided by the science; but that simply isn’t true. It continues to be a postcode lottery.

“We have a Warwickshire postcode but are 200 yards from the Oxfordshire border.

"Warwickshire is Tier 3 and the hospitality sector is closed. Oxfordshire is Tier 2 and we would be permitted to trade.

"It is a ludicrous situation.

“Our certified COVID-secure holiday lodges and tree house are situated on a private country estate, surrounded by farmland.

"We fail to comprehend why the self-catering sector continues to be forced to close when it’s one of the few places you can chose who to share your space with.

“There is absolutely no compelling evidence that staying in a holiday lodge in remote rural location, is less safe that visiting a nail bar, hairdressers, tattoo parlour or book makers.

"You can even visit Santa in his Grotto or stand in a queue for hours to shop in Primark in Tier 3, but you can’t stay here.

"I’ve just cancelled 21 bookings we had in over the next two weeks and refunded £17k to customers.

"Christmas and New Year is one of our busiest times of year and it’s heart-breaking to have to cancel yet more stays, including honeymoons and holidays booked over 12 months ago."

As well as this the pair also said they are still waiting on the grants from Stratford District Council for businesses forced to close.

Jo said: "We are now almost three weeks into this sorry saga and the local authority [Stratford upon Avon District Council] is still unable to pay businesses forced to close in Tier 3 any grants, as their IT system doesn’t work.

"This needs addressing PDQ before it pushes many hospitality businesses to the brink.”

A spokesperson from Stratford District Council said: "The District Council has received unprecedented levels of applications for help from businesses.

"The guidance from Government has changed a number of times since the original announcement was made and so the relevant computer software has only been released fully from 15th December.

"Payments have been made to certain groups of businesses and the latest numbers are £1.2million paid to 708 businesses so far.

"The District Council understands how critical this help is to businesses and is making every effort to get payments covering both lockdown and Tier 3 periods as soon as possible.”