Tour de Yorkshire to get £800,000 government investment | Cycling News
By Alex @AllthegearMTB · On February 17, 2015
Over the next two years Yorkshire will receive a £500,000 government investment for building regional cycling facilities, plus an additional £300,000 for promoting the Tour de Yorkshire on an international stage.
Announced today, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg confirmed that half a million pounds worth of funding will be given to Yorkshire to improve county cycling facilities, including the construction of new circuits.
Over the next two years, (2015-2017) the £0.5m investment will be overseen by British Cycling who will coordinate with local councils, organisations and cycling clubs.
The additional £0.3m will be used for promoting the Tour de Yorkshire internationally though the 'Welcome to Yorkshire' campaign. £300,000 to promote a cycling event seems a lot, but the the 2015 Tour de France boosted the local economy in Yorkshire by around £100m in July last year. Surely a sound investment.
This should be a massive boost for local Yorkshire cyclists too, with the facilities intended to serve up to 10,000 riders annually. However, no exact plans have been drawn up for where the cycling facilities will be constructed, or how many there will be.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced:
"Yorkshire wore the yellow jersey with pride last year, with an incredible staging of the Tour de France Grand Depart. The Tour de Yorkshire this summer is the perfect opportunity to build on this lasting legacy, attracting visitors again, which in turn will boost business in the region."
Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity said:
"Lots of people in Yorkshire know the race is happening. Lots of people in the UK know it's happening. Not many people in Belgium, Holland and France know the race is happening yet.""This will enable us to raise the profile and get a lot of visitors over from Belgium, Holland and France, not just for the race but for the rest of this year."
All of this great news for cycling in the UK. Added to the City Connect Cycle SuperHighway planned between Bradford and East Leeds, Yorkshire is going to be a great place for cyclists to ride safely!