Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Prime Minister
House of Commons
Westminster
SW1A OAA
Date: 1 June 2020
Ref:
cllrspencer.flower@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Dear Prime Minister
As Leader of Dorset Council, I am writing to you to express my serious concern about the
disproportionate and negative impact the Guidance states to “travel to outdoor open space irrespective
of distance” is having on areas like Dorset which are popular with visitors. Dorset is within a single
day’s travelling distance for visitors from London and the Midlands.
Over the past weekend we have seen some extremely disappointing behaviour from visitors to Dorset’s
beaches. The incidents at Durdle Door on Saturday 30 May placed a huge strain on our emergency
services. There have also been issues in other popular destinations across the county with excessive
numbers of visitors not being able to observe social distancing. We’ve seen littering, people urinating
and defecating in public, people camping overnight and people having dangerous campfires and BBQs
– despite extensive warnings against this from all local agencies. Council employees have been abused
by members of the public as they tried to manage the traffic.
I am acutely aware of how worried and upset many Dorset residents feel about the current situation,
particularly when so many of them have complied fully with lockdown guidance, particularly, when the
Dorset Council area had one of the lowest COVID19 infection rates in the country.
My overriding priority throughout the COVID19 outbreak has been the safety and wellbeing of Dorset
residents, and all decision making has been based on this. We at Dorset Council have done everything
we can within the limited powers we have, to prepare for and respond to the situation. For several
weeks now we’ve been sending out a strong message that potential visitors should ‘think twice’ about
coming to Dorset.
However, since you announced on Sunday 10 May that lockdown was to be gradually eased and that
people can “travel to outdoor open space irrespective of distance” and “you can sit on a beach”, both we
and Dorset Police have had very limited powers of enforcement. For example, since the recent
guidance came into effect, the Police have no longer been able to challenge road users as to whether
their journeys are essential. In other words, we have limited ability to deal with the large visitor numbers
and issues like the lack of social distancing and the negative impact on local communities.
Ahead of this announcement there was no communication with local councils about how we might
manage this influx, including the need for car parking, public toilets and most importantly for beaches,
the provision of Lifeguards. I understand that concern was being raised by Ministers last week about the
lack of Lifeguards – surely this is a conversation that should have happened before your
announcement?
All our public services are very stretched due to weeks of responding to the COVID19 outbreak and
other major incidents such as the wildfire at Wareham Forest. My plea to the government is to review
the travel advice currently in place and instead ask people to “stay local”. I am concerned that we will
see a second wave of infection here in Dorset as a result of the high number of visitors to the area over
recent days. I’m asking the government to act now to save the lives of Dorset residents. Please help us
to help them by issuing a revised guidance telling people to stay local for the time being.
We stand ready and waiting to work with the government but in order to do so, you need to engage far
more closely with the local government sector to deliver the results we need for the country at this time.
Yours sincerely
Cllr Spencer Flower
