Government's foot and mouth failure (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Government's foot and mouth failure

A DAMNING report into the Government's handling of the foot and mouth crisis has found that contingency plans failed to estimate the effect such an epidemic would have on tourism.

Last year's crisis sent the Cotswold economy into freefall as visitor numbers plummeted, depriving the region of its main source of income.

But a report published last week by the National Audit Office found that little prior consideration was given to the effect a major foot and mouth outbreak would have on tourist attractions, pubs, hotels and B&Bs.

Although there were no cases of the disease in the region, Gloucestershire's footpath network was shut down between February and June, and many attractions were forced to close.

Gloucestershire is estimated to have lost around £127-million because of the decline in visitor numbers, while a further £20-million was lost because of the cancellation of Cheltenham's National Hunt Festival.

Sir John Bourn, who heads the NAO, said: "This outbreak had a devastating effect on the rural economy and parts of the tourist industry.

"We must acknowledge that it was of an unprecedented nature and magnitude.

"In the light of what happened, urgent action is needed to produce contingency plans which would be more sensitive to outbreaks of different scales and thus be better suited to dealing with a future crisis on this scale."

Chris Dee, of Gloucestershire County Council's tourism department, said the crisis highlighted the vital role tourists play in the local economy.

"We had people ringing us up in tears because they had spent a long time building up their business," he said.

"It was very traumatic for an awful lot of people.

"In addition, many farmers have diversified and run businesses like B&Bs, so they got hit twice."

He said the main problem in Gloucestershire was persuading tourists that even though many attractions were closed, there were still reasons to visit the area.

Most major attractions, such as Batsford Arboretum, the Cotswold Farm Park and Westonbirt Arboretum, managed to open in time for the summer holidays.

At the Cotswold Farm Park near Guiting Power, visitor numbers dropped by more than 30 percent.

The park normally opens at Easter, but remained closed for a further five weeks, and even then it wasn't able to show rare breeds.

"We opened properly in the middle of July, but we never really recovered and visitor numbers were down every month," said park secretary Paula Jarvis.

Bob Warren, landlord of the Trout Inn in Lechlade, said: "We lost thousands of pounds because we normally serve people walking the Thames Path."

Claire McGine, spokesman for Cotswold District Council, said around 100 businesses were given rate reductions because of the crisis.

She added: "We've been working especially hard to promote the Cotswolds this year and it is starting to pay off."

The NAO report called for a complete overhaul of measures to tackle a future foot and mouth outbreak.

It found that Government departments were overwhelmed by the scale of the seven-month epidemic, which flared up in February and cost the country £8-billion.

It also highlighted delays in bringing the Army in to help, adding that more vets should have been available.

In addition, it said the ban on livestock movement should have been introduced earlier, and that departmental communication systems were severely stretched.

During the epidemic, the Standard ran a campaign which raised £35,000 to help local farmers hit by the knock-on effects of the disease.

The money went into a fund started by Lady Apsley, of Cirencester Park. In March, Lady Apsley presented the Government with a petition calling for a public inquiry into the crisis, which was signed by 250,000 people.

Lady Apsley welcomed the NAO report, saying: "The Government's handling of the crisis was nothing short of criminal.

"It deserves to be criticised, and we should also have a public inquiry."