The edge of lockdown: How villages in Leicester’s shadow have been left in ‘complete confusion’

‘We’ve found ourselves in this strange grey area, there are so many unknowns’

(AFP/Getty)

Villages on the edge of Leicester’s lockdown have been left in “complete confusion” over which coronavirus restrictions now do and do not apply to them, residents, councillors and businesses have said.

Areas such as Narborough, Anstey and Thurnby are just outside the proposed controlled zone laid out by the government on Tuesday.

But, for many, being in the shadow — as well as the economic and social sphere — of the UK’s first ever citywide closure has raised just as many questions as it has for those bang in the middle.

“We’ve found ourselves in this strange grey area,” says Malcolm Ballard, of Narborough Parish Council. “It’s complete confusion. As a village, we’re coming out of lockdown for now but might the boundary get redrawn and we find ourselves back in before Saturday? Do local businesses need to plan for that? And if they are allowed to reopen, are they allowed to serve customers if they come from Leicester? There are so many unknowns. It’s very, very trying.”

Announcing the unprecedented measures on Monday after a weekend of speculation, health secretary Matt Hancock said schools and non-essential shops in the East Midlands city would be shut down again this week while the easing of restrictions set to be enjoyed by the rest of the country on Saturday would not apply here.

Pertinently, he also said that travel to, from and within Leicester should be undertaken only if it was “essential”. By Tuesday morning, he appeared to suggest road blocks could be deployed on major arteries to enforce that.

Yet what qualifies as essential remains unclear to those who have to live on the border of this new reality. As one local asks, would crossing the lockdown line to spend time at a parents house be considered within guidelines in the same way that Dominic Cummings journey from London to County Durham while infected with Covid-19 was said to be permissible?

Just as importantly, perhaps: what about the weekly shop? Many people in these villages drive to the supermarkets of Leicester for food. “I assume that will still be allowed,” says Janet Forey, a councillor on Blaby District Council which is itself severed in two by the new border. “But some clarity on that would do no harm.”

Businesses in the villages, meanwhile, fear paradoxically both a huge drop in trade and potentially being so overwhelmed with customers they are unable to ensure social distancing.

The first of those concerns is because many shops out here rely on custom coming from the city. They fear that if that stops, it will decimate the much-needed post-lockdown recovery they were hoping for — and probably come without any government cover for the loss.

The second one? Some fear that with, for instance, pubs shut in Leicester this weekend, people could flee to the hostelries of these co-called ‘free villages’. With them, so runs the concern, they may bring the virus.

“People are absolutely talking about that and worrying,” says Coun Forey. “The pubs in these areas are very nice but certainly not equipped to deal with a mass of visitors should that happen.”

For Munira Broachwalla, owner of Narborough Hardware and DIY, the whole situation is fraught with worry.

“It is very difficut,” she says. “Everyone is unsure of what will happen over these weeks. A lot of businesses in this area have managed to get by through the lockdown but we were hoping to get back to a sense of normality. That just can’t happen when the lockdown is continuing just down the road.”

She appreciates, she says, the pandemic has to be dealt with. “But it is very hard,” she adds. “The not knowing is very hard.”

To make the confusion worse, the government map detailing the area covered by the extended restrictions — drawn up according to public health data — does not conform to any pre-existing boundaries. It extends, in some places, far beyond the city council boundaries. In others, it cuts slightly inside them. It doesn’t map to postcodes or parliamentary constituencies.

“A lot of people just aren’t sure if they’re included or not, which doesn’t help,” says Liz Hawkes, clerk of Antsey Parish Council. “We’re getting phone calls from people asking us all sorts of very reasonable questions. But we’re having to say to them, at the moment, we know as much as you — we’re only learning it day by day through the media.”