A Brecon gallery owner is calling on local business people to support his campaign to support the town’s coronavirus recovery.

Punch Maughan of the Found Gallery, has penned a letter to Members of the Senedd, MPs and county and town councillors calling on them to help re-open the town following months of lockdown.

‘I am writing as a business on the high street of Brecon but also as the previous Executive Director of Brecon Beacons Tourism, the tourism trade association for the Brecon Beacons National Park within whom I still have very many friends and colleagues and indeed am still a member as a retail business,” said Ms Maughan

“Whilst understanding, accepting and being grateful for the lock down that has helped to protect the majority of our population we now need to consider how to begin to reopen in a safe and sensible way that will allow us to maintain low levels of infection in our communities whilst allowing our businesses to begin to recoup a small part of what would have been their Summer income.

“To keep businesses closed and to not allow people to move around you are responding to the lowest common denominator in terms of behaviour and not allowing those who are prepared to operate more sensibly to have their chance. Tourism and the visitor economy is absolutely critical for Wales as is our farming sector - our farmers being those that provide food for us all but who also need to see their trade to cafes, restaurants and bars begin again,” she said.

“The message that Wales is telling the rest of the UK is that we are closed and to Visit Later. We are running out of time for the majority of businesses in tourism and retail such as our gallery.

“It is the April - August trade that allows us to pay off our winter debts and build a reserve for the next winter. The impact of the closures on people emotionally, particularly as time moves on is truly disturbing as people struggle to see how their businesses will re-emerge.

“The disparity with England and Scotland makes this all the more upsetting and frustrating particularly as most of Wales is demonstrating very low numbers of cases and has the opportunity to spread it’s visitors widely rather than in crowded places. To add insult to injury is to see that football teams are allowed to start training - running, puffing, collaborating closely together in their teams but we still can only see members of one other household.

“There is no sense in this disparity and makes me for one wonder what deal this powerful lobby has struck with you all. The other disturbing factor of a non unified approach is the fuelling of the worst sort of nationalism that I thought had begun to abate in Wales but is on the increase again with the Keep Out of our country message. This will be disastrous for the world’s view of Wales as we had only recently begun to shake off that cloak.

“I fear that so many of our Welsh politicians have only ever been in the public sector and therefore have no concept of what it might mean to not have a guaranteed salary or decent pension - I hope this is unjustified cynicism but it doesn’t feel like it currently,” she said.

“Can I urge you all to think very hard about the next round of easing and ensure that you are giving credit to your Wales based businesses that they will re-open with care and consideration. This will help us all to get Wales back on it feet,” said Ms Maughan.