Tattoo parlours, gyms and beauty salons in region frustrated with government

Watch a video report by ITV News Anglia's Matthew Hudson

Although many businesses were able to re-open at the weekend after months of lockdown, several sectors in the region still have no income - and no indication of when they might be able to return to business.

The owners of tattoo parlours, beauty salons and gyms say they are hoping that tomorrow's budget announcement will bring them crucial extra support.

Many believe they could easily re-open safely tomorrow if they were allowed to but without any information on when they may be able to, they also say they fear many in their industries will be forced to close.

Crossfit Gym in Saffron Walden has started providing fitness classes online and outdoors to try and stay afloat.

Sam Parke at the gym said that they were hoping they'd be allowed to reopen along with pubs and hairdressers.

"I'd be lying if myself and all the other gym owners weren't disappointed.  I think we very much were but we've got to keep positive. These are the cards we've been dealt so we're just acting accordingly, moving forward and taking it week by week. That's all we can do."Tattoo parlours, unlike pubs, are known for their sterile environment. To avoid possible blood contamination and infections, tattoo artists constantly clean apparatus throughout their normal working day. Owner of Cambridge's Black Pearl tattoo parlour, Dave Casbolt, believes they could open safely, and is eager to hear tomorrow's announcement.

"We just need to hear a date so we can start moving forward really so we can plan ahead, because we're stuck. We got a grant at the beginning and it paid for three months rent but obviously that's three months gone and now we're left with nothing, now we've got to pay off our own back - if we can find it."

Britain's beauty sector is vital to the economy. It provides 1.3 percent of the UK's total GDP, equivalent to all the economic activity in Manchester. 

But unlike hairdressers, they were not allowed to reopen at the weekend either. Harriet at the Bare Beauty Salon in Saffron Walden says she can't understand why the government is not taking their plight seriously.

She said: "The beauty industry outstrips the motor industry in what we provide for the economy. We have over 28 billion going into the economy and then they're laughing about it in the House of Commons. It just doesn't make sense."