SHOPS, businesses and organisations that supported each other and residents in the upper dale during the pandemic lockdown are now reaping the reward of their efforts as visitors flock to the area’s beauty spots.
Shops, hotels and cafés in Middleton-in-Teesdale, along with charity group Utass (Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services) banded together during the crisis to keep residents supplied with essentials as well as the odd treat.
Michelle Longman, of the Tees’pot Café described the collaboration as a throwback to “days gone by when everything was local”.
She was able to keep her own business going, initially, by supplying sandwiches to the local newsagent, which had lost its regular supplier.
It is an arrangement that continues, she said.
Of other services provided to the community she said: “Teesdale Hotel started doing Sunday lunches and progressed to evening meals. It was very well supported. The chippy was busier than normal – I think people got sick of making their own meals. The chemist was invaluable and McFarlane’s Butchers were doing deliveries.”
Ms Longman added that hardware store J Raine and Son provided deliveries across the dale so that people could get on with DIY projects and gardening at home.
G&J Newsagents expanded its range to meet people’s needs.
Ms Longman said: “They kept the food supplies going because a lot of people did not want to leave the village.”
Support came in other ways too, such as cakes being baked for the youth provision team at Utass who, in turn delivered kits to children which enabled them to make their own meals and do entertaining science projects.
Ms Longman said: “The whole village just came together.”
Of her own business’ continued operation through the restrictions she said: “In the first lockdown I was going to shut but we came to the realisation that some people were still working so we started doing the sandwiches.
“I then thought I am doing the sandwiches so I’ll open and do drinks and snacks and scones for takeaways. We became quite famous for our scones.”
She now believes that those businesses that stood together throughout the crisis are reaping the rewards for their hard work, highlighting an extremely business Whit bank holiday.
She said: “The whole village was packed. The weekend was phenomenal.”
