Yorkshire coastal village of Staithes is split into Tier 2 and Tier 1 restrictions thanks to administrative quirk

One of Yorkshire's tourist hotspots is in the almost unique position of being divided by the government's new Covid-19 alert system.

Staithes, near Whitby, has always been an administrative anomaly - the Roxby Beck, which divides the fishing village and runs from the North York Moors into the sea, has long been the boundary between two local authority areas. Around 40 cottages on the north side of the river are part of Redcar and Cleveland, while the remainder of the village is under the jurisdiction of Scarborough Council.

While residents - there are only around 100 full-time occupants thanks to the proliferation of holiday lets and second homes in recent years - are used to paying tax to different councils and having separate bin collections, the imposition of the new tiered system of Covid-19 restrictions has thrown their situation into a sort of parody.

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The Redcar side of the beck is in Tier 2, and household mixing indoors is banned. Yet the properties on the Scarborough bank are in Tier 1, where socialising with up to six friends in homes, pubs and restaurants is still allowed.

Staithes is divided by the Roxby BeckStaithes is divided by the Roxby Beck
Staithes is divided by the Roxby Beck

The absurdity of the situation was summed up by a frustrated retired solicitor who told Daily Telegraph journalists that he is not supposed to cross the bridge to visit the village shop or see a friend who had offered his teenage son careers advice.

The actual council wards the sides fall in have both recorded fairly low case rates - 10 on the Redcar side and four on the Scarborough side last week. Despite the differing local authority governance, the area is largely rural.

The issue is further complicated by the fact that most holiday rentals are on the Scarborough side, with the remaining 'locals' concentrated on the north side.

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One resident complained that the summer tourist season had been 'one long Covid party', with visitors cramming into the village's narrow alleyways.

However, North Yorkshire County Council's director of public health, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, yesterday called for the entire Yorkshire and Humber region to be placed in Tier 2, which would bring rural areas into line with cities such as Leeds and Bradford, and reduce confusion. A change is classification would mean Scarborough Council would enter Tier 2, bringing both sides of the Roxby Beck together again.

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