Blackpool has been placed into Tier 4 coronavirus alert level by the government. This means you must stay at home unless you have a ‘reasonable excuse’. 

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “With infection rates in Blackpool and along the Fylde Coast under 200 per 100,000 and positivity rates lower than in the likes of Merseyside, which is in Tier 3, we are perplexed at how the Government can claim it is following the science. Ministers are treating Lancashire as a homogeneous mass and completely ignoring the evidence submitted to them which shows how our areas are connected and how our population moves around.

 “Decisions such as these are utterly baffling and it hard to envisage how Blackpool and the Fylde Coast can ever come out of the highest tier restrictions if policy continues to be determined in such a blunt fashion. Our hopes very much rest on an effective roll-out of the Astra Zeneca vaccination programme in Lancashire from the start of next week and we would urge our residents to recognise that the vaccine offers the best prospect of us returning to some semblance of normal life.”

In Tier 4 restrictions 'reasonable excuse' to leave your home includes:  

  • To work or volunteer if you cannot work from home 

  • To buy food or medicine, collect items ordered through click-and-collect or as a takeaway 

  • For education and childcare where parents can still drop their children off at school and operate in a childcare bubble where parents and children live apart 

  • For medical appointments, to avoid injury or illness or to escape risk of harm 

You can exercise outdoors: 

  • By yourself 

  • With the people you live with 

  • With your support bubble 

  • With one person from another household 

You can form a support bubble with another household if: 

  • You are the only adult in your household 

  • You live with someone with a disability who requires continuous care and there is no other adult living in the household 

  • You live with a child under one, or who was under one on 2 December 2020 

  • You live with a child under five, or who was under five on 2 December 2020, who has a disability and requires continuous care 

 Weddings and Funerals: 

  • Up to 6 people can attend a wedding or equivalent ceremony in exceptional circumstances 

  • A maximum of 30 people can attend a funeral. Wakes and other linked ceremonial events can continue in a group of up to 6 people. 

Businesses and venues which must close 

  • Non-essential retail - these venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect and delivery services 

  • Hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs with the exception of providing food and drink for takeaway (until 11pm), click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery 

  • Accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites 

  • Leisure and sports facilities including indoor gyms 

  • Entertainment venues and indoor attractions 

  • Personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons 

Places that remain open: 

  • Essential retail such as supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, building merchants and suppliers of building products and off-licences 

  • Market stalls selling essential retail  

  • Libraries for essential IT services  

  • Businesses providing repair services, where they primarily offer repair services 

  • Petrol stations, automatic (but not manual) car washes, vehicle repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses 

  • Banks, building societies, post offices, short-term loan providers and money transfer businesses 

  • Funeral directors 

  • Medical and dental services 

  • Outdoor gym, pools, sports courts, golf courses and outdoor riding centres 

  • Places of worship where strict social distancing is maintained 

  • Crematoriums and burial grounds 

Clinically vulnerable people:  
 
If you are clinically extremely vulnerable the government is advising you to work from home. If you cannot work from home, you are advised not to go to work and may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit. 

Travelling within Tier 4:  

The list of reasons you can leave your home and area include, but are not limited to: 

  • Work, where you cannot work from home 

  • Accessing education and for caring responsibilities 

  • Visiting those in your support bubble - or your childcare bubble for childcare 

  • Visiting hospital, GP and other medical appointments 

  • You can travel a short distance within your Tier 4 area for outdoor exercise (for example, to access an open space) 

  • Attending the care and exercise of an animal, or veterinary services 

Travelling out of Tier 4:  

You must stay at home and not leave your Tier 4 area, other than to: 

  • Travel to work where you cannot work from home 

  • Travel to education and for caring responsibilities 

  • Visit or stay overnight with people in your support bubble, or your childcare bubble for childcare purposes 

  • Attend hospital, GP and other medical appointments or visits where you have had an accident or are concerned about your health 

International travel to or from Tier 4: 

If you live in a Tier 4 area, you can only travel internationally - or within the UK - where you first have a legally permitted reason to leave home. In addition, you should consider the public health advice in the country you are visiting.  

Get the full breakdown of all Tier 4 restrictions here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home

The Illuminations, which were due to stay on until January 3, will now be switched off from 10.30pm tonight in recognition of the Government’s “stay home” advice for Tier 4 areas. The Blackpool Tower, which has remained illuminated throughout the pandemic, will stay lit throughout the New Year period.