PROBLEMS associated with foot and mouth form the agenda when Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael meets with North Yorkshire County Council officials on Monday, September 17.

Joining him in the talks will be the council leader, Coun John Weighell; the chairman of the council's foot and mouth working group Coun John Blackie; Coun John Dennis who is the council's executive member for business and consumer affairs; and Jeremy Walker, chief executive of the council.

It is estimated at the economy of the county has lost £100m since the outbreak of the disease and the council has complained that it has not received enough financial support from the Government to support its efforts to offset the worst impact of the crisis. In preparation for the meeting, the council contacted a small cross-section of the economy and here are the views of two of those folk, one a farmer, the other in tourism.

l l

KEITH and Sandra Simmons run a bed-and-breakfast business in the middle of Goathland, the Aidensfield of 'Heartbeat' fame. They would normally expect their three letting bedrooms to be fully occupied for the entire seven-month season. This year they have lost the equivalent of two months trade, almost a third of their potential income.

Keith said: "That is business which has been lost forever, we will never claw it back." He added: "We have built up a successful business only to be rocked back on our heels by foot-and-mouth. A lot of the damage was done during the early stages of the epidemic.

"People asked us if we were open for business, which we always were, and in the very next breath they asked us: 'Are the footpaths open?'.

"The closure of the footpaths has had a devastating effect on this area. A lot of businesses are on their knees and will never see next year."

Keith and Sandra did a check on working people in the Goathland area and discovered that 17 earn their living through farming while more than 120 are dependent on tourism. Keith said: "People are well aware of the effect that foot-and-mouth has had on the farming communities but where is the help for tourism and other businesses which have lost out?

l l

CAROLINE and Nick Bouvet farm at Fryup Hall Farm, near Whitby, and they point out: "Selling stock from the farm other than direct to slaughter is impossible. This also means that we have to accept poor prices for stock, as our grass is unable to support our stock as autumn approaches.

"Few farms have the building capacity to finish stock, which will create problems as the store market is non-existent. Extra feed, bedding and slurry storage will be required throughout the winter.

"Because we are unable to sell animals to other farms it is likely that when farmers begin to re-stock their empty farms we will lose out, as our hands are tied by the restrictions imposed on this area. Where will the outlets be for breeding sheep? Will we be able to move them?"

While shepherding the moor has been made impossible, it would seem that there are no such restrictions for the large estates wishing to shoot grouse.

"Subsidies will be decreasing if not disappearing altogether so the future looks very bleak indeed. There will be very few young farmers willing to take on such a fruitless career. Farming needs support as when all our food has to be imported, only then will we see the real cost to our country."

Updated: 09:55 Thursday, September 13, 2001