Councillor/Cynghorydd Ian Roberts Leader of the Council Arweinyddy Cyngor Mark Drakeford AM, First Minister Our Ref/Ein Cyf Ken Skates AM, Minister for Economy and th Date/Dyddiad 15 June 2020 Transport Vaughan Gething AM, Minister for Health and Ask for/Gofynner am Ian Roberts Social Services Direct Dial/Rhif Union 01352 702105 Email/Ebost: By Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Dear First Minister and Colleague Ministers, Relaxation of Covid-19 Emergency Regulations and Guidance Thank you for your support for councils through this most challenging emergency response phase. As an innovative council with strong social values we have shown remarkable resilience and ingenuity to cope with the challenges we have had to manage locally. We have appreciated your guidance and support throughout. The next scheduled Welsh Government review of the regulations and guidance is a critical one. We appeal for Welsh Government to do the following in the announcement due on 18th/19th June:- allow all non-essential retail to reopen from Monday 22nd June; allow all open-air attractions, and open-space destination attractions to re-open from Monday 22nd June; relax the travel guidance/restrictions accordingly; and publish an indicative timetable for the resumption of other key sectors, such as leisure, for ongoing review according to the recovery planning set out in the published Welsh Government document ‘Unlocking Our Society and Economy’. Alongside all other councils we are developing detailed plans for the safe re-opening of town centres, retail centres and retail clusters in partnership with town councils and local retailers in readiness for a re-opening. With retail fully re-opening in England, the retail centres and sectors in North Wales will be at a significant disadvantage if they are not allowed to resume, and compete, shortly. Some retailers will be lost if we delay as they will be in a weakened competitive trading position. County Hall, Mold. CH7 6NF www.flintshire.gov.uk Neuadd y Sir, Yr Wyddgrug. CH7 6NF www.siryfflint.gov.uk We welcome correspondence in Welsh. We will respond to correspondence received in Welsh without delay. Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth Gymraeg. Ymatebwn yn ddi-oed i ohebiaeth a dderbynnir drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. The same rationale applies to open-air attractions. If it is safe to re-open retailers such as garden centres then why would it not be safe to re-open open-air attractions where the operators are responsible and can demonstrate that they have a compliant operational safety plan in place? We urgently need to restart the retail and tourism sectors who are at great risk. These relaxations would be the first steps to recovery for those economies. The current travel guidance and regulations under the banner of ‘stay local’ are a barrier to the above. They are also close to impossible to enforce for a border county where the neighbouring nation has already made significant relaxations. Whilst public compliance with the restrictions has until now been of a high standard, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage public behaviour in a border county with the divergence in approach between the UK and Welsh Governments. There is public confusion, and enforcement activity is diverting police and local authority resources from our core functions. The position set out above has the support of all seven political groups which make- up the council, key local retail partners such as Broughton Retail Park, and local town councils, retailers and operators, and communities. We are hopeful that you have already decided to make these relaxations on the intelligence we are receiving. This letter is meant to provide comfort and support for that necessary decision. We would appreciate an immediate response as time is pressing. We aim to publish this letter on Wednesday 17th June to reassure our local communities and partners of our position, as an act of community leadership. Yours sincerely, Councillor Ian Roberts Colin Everett Leader and Cabinet Minister for Education Chief Executive .