“Detour de Yorkshire”
A Letter to the Editor from Kevin STAINTON of Scarborough, questioning the true benefit to residents of Scarborough’s most ‘international’ vanity project (while residents take detours around the potholes).
His verdict? “On yer bike, Carl Les!”.
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Sir,
How much does the Tour de Yorkshire actually cost – and what do we get for our money?
NYCC agreed to fund the Tour de Yorkshire for £180,000 per year: http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2016-09-27/north-yorkshire-council-agree-to-fund-tour-de-yorkshire-for-2017-and-2018.
Add to that the cost of Police to monitor roads, close roads, ride with the race, etc.
Add to that the cost of road repairs, resurfacing, cleaning of the route, etc, (£50,000 to resurface a small part of Marine Drive last year).
Add to that the amount of disruption and cost to residents whilst roads that are not in urgent need of repair (normally main roads which are maintained regularly) are closed for repair or resurfacing, closed prior to the race, etc.
Add the cost of the additional work to close roads, etc, and we can’t be far off £500,000 for a few hours “spectacle”.
What do we get for our money (it is “our” money as it’s the tax we pay!)?
We get fair roads being resurfaced whilst dangerous road surfaces are neglected – and no doubt will be neglected for longer, due to “lack of funds”, that old chestnut that NYCC rams down our throats every time they charge us more for less.
We get roads at a standstill for hours, busy at the best of times due to some pen-pusher sat behind a desk who either has no idea of transport infrastructure, or has never been to Scarborough – but it looks good on a map – or the closest they’ve ever been to playing with traffic free flow is with the Corgi cars mummy bought them.
We get 1000’s of Tour de Yorkshire supporters. Some might buy a tea and a breakfast; some might even lodge in one of our already busy hotels (“Scarborough is set for a very busy 2018 season”, said Mr Bastiman) on the busy bank holiday weekend; some will no doubt buy fuel for all the extra vehicles so, the cafe’s, hotels and fuel stations will possibly see a slight benefit.
As for “Joe Bloggs” on the street – more disruption, more time wasted in traffic jams, more street cleaners to clean up after the 1,000s of Tour de Yorkshire supporters leave but forget to take the rubbish they brought and can’t find a convenient waste-bin (that is, of course, presuming SBC get around to emptying them), less parking places on our wonderful “residents parking zones”, which are far removed from being residents parking zones.
Yet NYCC claim that the Tour de Yorkshire will bring in £60 million for Yorkshire’s economy?
We do have a very good clue in the statement of a politician – County Council leader Cllr Carl Les – who states:
“There is TV coverage in 178 countries across the globe and media coverage is estimated to be worth £116 million. The TV coverage provides a major opportunity to show the world the county’s fantastic communities and stunning landscapes.”
Oh, I agree Mr Les, as long as the world, when they visit, don’t stray off the route and fall down a pothole you can’t afford to repair!
Kevin Stainton
Kevin STAINTON, Scarborough. 20th April, 2018.
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