A road split between the border of England and Wales is observing two different states of lockdown, with one side sunbathing under Boris Johnson’s Stay Alert message and the other making sure they ‘Stay at Home’.
Border towns are in the midst of confusion as English and Welsh government’s follow two different states of lockdown advice during the coronavirus pandemic.
Boundary Lane in Saltney, Flintshire has a border running right down the middle, putting one side in England, where residents can drive where they want and rubbish can be collected, and the other in Wales, where rubbish is stored in gardens and neighbours have to stay local.
The border between England and Wales runs down the middle of Boundary Lane in Saltney, meaning each side of the road is in a different state of lockdown.
On the Wales side, there are tougher rules, where Stay at Home is still the dominant message, people have to remain local to exercise and two people can meet up – if it’s by accident.
But just yards away, on the other side in England, Boris Johnson has relaxed the rules on exercise, sports and travel. England. Residents on the right hand side are free to travel and meet individually, while on the left hand side in Wales, the country remains unchanged and in lockdown. Now in England, people are allowed to sunbathe, travel to other destinations and even play sport with members of the same household.
Flintshire county councillor for Saltney Stonebridge, Veronica Gay, lives nearby on the Welsh side.
She said ‘Generally everybody is under stress some people have lost their jobs, others are furloughed, while others are having a stressful time as key workers.
‘I can go to meet somebody in a park, but can’t meet them in their garden. And I can only meet one of my daughters at a time, not both together.
Boundary Lane sits on either side of Chester and Wales, dividing lockdown for residents
‘Meanwhile at the moment we have people living on the Welsh side of Boundary Lane, who are storing some rubbish in their gardens because the recycling centres aren’t currently open in Flintshire – but on the other side the bin lorries are taking stuff away.
‘On the Welsh side, they can only go out locally, but the other side in England can drive to the Lake District or down to Brighton.’
Ms Gay said people thought ‘they were in the UK’ and would have liked to have seen a more united front as lockdown restrictions are eased.
Linda Astbury, 69, who used to work for Marks & Spencer Bank in Chester, lives on the English side of the road and is getting to grips with the different rules.
She said: ‘I went for a walk and it occurred to me that I was crossing over into the Welsh and then back over into England – normally I wouldn’t think about it.
‘I was thinking technically whether I should be entering Wales – but I’m sure its fine, I usually shop on the Welsh side in Morrisons and if I was prevented from doing that – then that would be silly.
‘I prefer being on the English side, because I think under these rules I have more autonomy. I do my walks and as long as I keep two metres apart and don’t do anything I shouldn’t – that’s fine. But of course maybe not everybody will follow the rules.’
Ms Astbury says she could travel a long way in England now, under English rules: ‘But people may not want me to go there, because they don’t want you to spread the virus,’ she said; ‘But I can stay out all day now if I wish, but you can’t on the other side of the road.’
She says she is not critical of politicians, either side of the border and believes they are just trying to do the best they can for their countries, in extraordinary circumstances.
Flintshire, Saltney has roads divided between an English local authority and a Welsh one, meaning bins are only being collected on one street
Meanwhile Anne Anboorallee, who also lives on the English side, prefers the Welsh restrictions.
The 66-year-old has recently retired as a secretary for the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, in mental health and knows only too well the brave efforts NHS staff are making every day, to treat people amid the outbreak.
She said: ‘It was a bit confusing, but if you think about it I know what I can do and can’t do.
‘It seems ridiculous that I can do things that people 30 yards away can’t.
‘I actually prefer the Welsh restrictions at the moment and feel more comfortable and safer with those rules.’
Elsewhere in Wales, a shop owner said she can’t get any English customers, while a Welsh woman commuting to England has no public transport to get her to work – as the differing coronavirus rules spark confusion in border towns.
On Sunday Boris Johnson urged people to head back to work, eased some of the lockdown restrictions put in place on March 23, and ditched the ‘stay home’ slogan to ‘stay alert’.
But leaders for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have made it clear they will stick with the ‘stay at home’ message, and have made comparatively minor changes to their own lockdown rules.
In Chepstow, on the English/Welsh border, Evelyn Williams owns Mucky Pups dog grooming boutique in the town centre.
In Chepstow, which straddles the English/Welsh border, Evelyn Williams owns Mucky Pups dog grooming boutique in the town centre
She said she has opened up her shop with social distancing measures in place but is worried some of her clients who live in England may not be able to come to her shop.
‘It’s absolutely crazy as I travel from Newport every day to open up the shop, yet people only two minutes across the bridge can’t come over to use the service,’ she said.
‘It’s a case of so close yet so far and I don’t really think anyone understands exactly what we can and can’t do right now.
‘We’ve opened back up here and are working under the social distancing measures, but for other businesses in Chepstow who are thinking of doing the same it’s tough because a lot of our clients who come in from England are now being told they can’t.
‘Staff will be affected as well if they have to commute back and forth so it really is a mess.’
On Sunday, Mr Johnson announced plans to ease lockdown restrictions in England, which come into force today. Under that new guidance, those who cannot work from home will be encouraged to return to work if they can do so without using public transport, while those who can work from home should continue to do so.
The bridge in Chepstow crosses the Wales and England border, with locals on either side following different lockdown rules
The PM also confirmed plans for children to begin to return to school in England from June 1, starting with reception, year one and year six in primary school, while secondary schools and further education colleges are preparing for face-to-face contact with years 10 and 12.
The ‘stay home, protect the NHS, save lives’ slogan has also been dropped by the UK Government in favour of the new ‘stay alert, control the virus, save lives’.
In contrast, the Welsh Government’s message has continued to be ‘stay at home’, and Wales’ education minister Kirsty Williams has clarified that Welsh schools will not be reopening on June 1.
Cassie Stephens, 29, makes the commute across the border from her home in Newport to Tutshill every day, where she works in a local off-licence.
‘To be honest I don’t fully understand what I’m expected to do at the moment as I work across the border in Gloucestershire and will be given shifts as normal,’ Cassie said.
‘My workplace is fully open again now and with bills to pay it is important for me to get back to work.
‘It has been difficult as a lot of public transport has been cancelled or severely reduced which means I have to walk from Chepstow every day, which is quite long.
‘But with so much up in the air, I’m really not sure what the right thing is to be doing.
‘What makes it worse is that it’s so close, and while I understand people want to keep themselves safe, the fact that they’ve relaxed the rules in England and not in Wales has put me in a really awkward position.
Cassie Stephens, 29, makes the commute across the border from her home in Newport to Tutshill every day, where she works in a local off-licence
‘I think it is a bit unfair, and there needs to be something done to make sure people in this country are all aligned on what’s going on during such a difficult period.’
One of the biggest conflicts is set to be the rules over exercise.
The Prime Minister has told people in England they can drive to exercise but the Welsh Government does not want English people driving into Wales to do that.
This could cause real issues in Redbrook because the Offa’s Dyke Path and the Wye Valley Walk run through the village and it is a hotspot for walkers and cyclists.
The main car park is on the English side and run by the Forest of Dean District Council.
Golf club that straddles English and Welsh border is to reopen despite differing lockdown rules
A golf club which straddles the English and Welsh border is to reopen on Wednesday despite differing lockdown rules for both countries.
Llanymynech Golf Club claims to be Europe’s only dual country course, with its holes split between the counties of Powys in Wales and Shropshire in England.
But its location led to confusion about whether it could reopen this week due to a difference in the way coronavirus lockdown measures are being eased in England and Wales.
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people in England will be able to play golf again from May 13, the Welsh administration is yet to follow suit.
Golfer Gwyn Ashton at Llanymynech Golf Club, Oswestry, where the course crosses the border of England and Wales
The club – which is situated between the towns of Welshpool and Owestry – has now said it will reopen in-line with the measures announced for England.
In a statement on Tuesday, the club said: ‘We have many difficult decisions to make as a golf club in order just to survive without having to deal with governing bodies that fail to agree on suitable, sensible guidelines that not only protect the public, but the very existence of sporting clubs.’
Its course features 15 holes in Wales, two in England and one that crosses both countries, with players teeing off in the former and putting in the latter.
The club said the majority of its 470 members are based in England, adding that the virus had left it in a ‘precarious position’ financially.
In reaching its decision to reopen, the club said it had followed the guidance of the Shropshire and Herefordshire Union of Golf Clubs and the English Golf Union.
‘This we feel is the best course of action for our club and its members and allows golf to be played within the current restrictions highlighted in the Prime Minister’s statement,’ the club said.
‘The English Golf Union guidelines agreed with the Government are a comprehensive set of rules that will allow a limited amount of golf to be played in a controlled and safe manner.’
The Government’s coronavirus recovery strategy said that from Wednesday recreational activities, including golf and tennis will be permitted in England as long as social distancing guidelines are adhered to.
It is closed for now but under the PM’s guidance it could re-open to allow people to explore the countryside.
But Welsh politicians have made it clear they would not want anybody arriving by car and then walking over the railway bridge to exercise in Wales.
And it could also impact on families as relatives often live on different sides of the English-Welsh border.
One person further in Welsh Chepstow summed it up when they pointed out that their daughter living in Tutshill, a Gloucestershire village many consider to be a suburb of the Welsh town, could visit them under the guidelines announced by the English Government.
However Welsh law bans them from visiting her in Tutshill.
Armand Watts is the local councillor for Chepstow’s Thornwell ward, and lives in the town with his partner and children.
Armand, 52, said many children living in Chepstow normally attend schools which come under English jurisdiction.
‘What happens when you have some children in England going back to school and then in Wales they won’t make a decision on it?’ he said.
‘Say the First Minister decides ‘hang on a minute, politicians aren’t allowed to go back to work, you or I can’t go back to work, so why is it alright that children are sent back to school and teachers are exposed to that potential risk?’
‘I think this is where it becomes slightly more fractious and concerning rather than just confused.’
Peter Moon is the owner of Moon & Co estate agents, based in the town centre.
Mr Moon said he is aware some other estate agents in England are planning to begin allowing viewings of unoccupied properties, but he is still unable to do so.
‘My office is 300 yards from the English border,’ Peter said.
‘A good 30 or 35% of our properties that we sell or rent are in England but we are physically in Wales.
‘As far as we’re concerned viewing houses isn’t essential.
‘We had a conversation with someone last week who is in an abusive relationship and desperate to view a rental property but we can’t because we aren’t allowed to.
‘There’s this mixed message that’s coming over between England and Wales.’
Mr Moon said half of his staff are currently on furlough, with the other half working from home.
He said some staff who live in England have occasionally needed to come into the office to pick up post.
‘Are they allowed to do that?’ Peter said. ‘I presume so but then you have the Welsh Government saying don’t come into Wales.
‘It’s very unclear.’
The former railway bridge across the river Wye at Redbrook, which is now a popular footpath, is a visible sign that this is a border community.
Either side of the bridge are two pubs, The Bell in Redbrook itself and The Boat, a riverside pub which is officially addressed as Penalt in Wales.
Boris Johnson has told the landlord of The Bell he might be able to open in some capacity in July subject to certain conditions being met.
But the owners of the The Boat have not been given any hope by Welsh First Minster Mark Drakeford who updated the Coronavirus advice in Wales on Friday.
If this carries on villagers might end up being able to use one local this summer but not the other.
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: ‘The situation for schools in Wales will not change on 1 June. This week the Minister for Education will issue a working document which will set out next steps for education in Wales, this will include how key decisions will be reached and who will be providing advice on those decisions.
‘We continue to be guided by the very latest scientific advice and will only look to have more pupils and staff in schools when it is safe to do so. We will, of course, need to ensure that social distancing requirements can be adhered to.
‘Any decision to increase the operation of schools will be communicated well in advance. We are working closely with local authorities to ensure that schools are supported in this preparation work.’
A UK Government spokesperson said: ‘We have confronted this virus as one United Kingdom and have worked closely with the devolved administrations every step of the way.
‘However, the virus has spread at different rates and the response needs to be flexible and to move at slightly different speeds across the UK.
‘The UK Government is supporting the devolved governments with unprecedented testing, funding and logistical support from our armed forces.’