Whitby’s lockdown lesson - put residents before visitors: Yorkshire Post Letters

AS we appear to be coming out of lockdown, a lot of people, I believe, are looking inwardly to reassess their needs and wants.

In Whitby, we have seen how the town ground to a halt without tourism and yet did the town feel a cleaner and less polluted place without so many visitors?

Yes, we need to accommodate the tourist industry, but, like many larger cities, now could be the time to re-evaluate the relationship balance between the needs of people who make Whitby what it is and the people who love to visit Whitby.

Can the continual development of every square inch of the town to provide more accommodation for visitors be balanced with the costs associated with trying to buy a home in the town?

For many years, I have thought money generated by tourism would benefit the whole town. I now question this concept.

As we look to the future what benefits are there to living in Whitby, how can we learn from our past mistakes?

The council has sold as much land off for redevelopment as they possibly could, Pannett Park is maintained by enthusiastic friends, the pavilion is shut and the leisure facilities have not had investment made in them in years, no council office, a token tourist information centre and Helredale playing field built on.

So where has all the money gone from the tourists? Something needs to change, possibly a unitary authority will be more accommodating, spreading the money more evenly across their patch.

From: Sarah Jennings, Norwich.

I’VE just spent three days in Whitby, a break from lockdown and yes, fully expecting to see others like myself enjoying your wonderful town.

What shocked me was to see absolutely no enforcement of mask wearing on the quayside where people were packed in groups and seemingly oblivious to any health concern.

This was not helped by your shopkeepers, in fact several are sporting signs outside confirming they will not ask shoppers to wear a mask.

I’m from Norwich, and although our streets are wider, the majority wear masks and certainly in shops and queues for shops. Where are your public health officials, how is this being managed?  

Lockdown is being tightened and I spoke to a number of people in Whitby who were from Manchester. I don’t think we should stay afraid but I do think we need to be aware of the contribution we can make towards reducing risks.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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James Mitchinson

Editor