Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has spoken in the Senedd of the crippling impact the travel restrictions imposed by the Welsh Government are having on businesses in Conwy and Denbighshire.

Taking part in yesterday’s Welsh Parliament debate on the local restrictions, Darren said the measures, which were introduced on October 1st, are “hitting people hard” and criticised the Welsh Government for failing to provide sufficient evidence to justify them.

He said:

“The Welsh Government has a legal duty to demonstrate that any restrictions that it imposes on the people of Wales are proportionate and necessary, and yet it has failed to provide the data to support its position.

“it was absolutely heart breaking to watch the tv over this weekend to see people being interviewed in the tourism queen of resorts, Llandudno, on the North Wales coast. We had a shopkeeper there telling reporters that, on one day last week, they took just £6.50 over the counter in takings.

“A local restaurateur said that usually on a Saturday, the previous week before the restrictions, they had 184 diners; that was down to 16 on the Saturday following the restrictions being introduced.

Addressing the Welsh Government he added:

“Unless you act quickly, these businesses, along with hundreds of others, will be going down the pan. And it's not just those businesses, it's every single person they employ, every single family that relies on them for  a pay packet, and every single supplier that supplies them. The ripple effects will be absolutely huge.”

Darren also criticised the restrictions for paying “absolutely no regard to the regular patterns of travel that people enjoy, particularly for those living in those border parts of these local authority areas.”

He said: “My constituents in Kinmel Bay for example can't nip a few hundred yards into Rhyl to their local supermarket yet they can travel an hour in the opposite direction all the way down into the Snowdonia National Park. It's absolutely bonkers.”