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02
Sept 2021
Could Tour de Yorkshire money be spent on Festival of Yorkshire instead?
Calls are mounting for the millions of pounds of taxpayers money set aside to fund next year’s Tour de Yorkshire to be used to stage a cultural festival instead.
The cycle race was cancelled on Tuesday and yesterday leading councillors said the public purse funds earmarked for the event should be used to bankroll the week-long Festival of Yorkshire, which Welcome to Yorkshire had hoped to run alongside the race.
Councillors hope an expansive event celebrating the region’s food and drink, arts and culture, heritage and music would act as a springboard for the economy after the pandemic.
North Yorkshire County Council set aside up to £200,000 for next year’s event. The authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, said he hoped the race’s organisers could look at whether the festival programme element of the Tour de Yorkshire could still be held next year.
He said:
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When asked to comment on calls for the money to be used to enable more people to cycle, he said the county council was already spending “a considerable amount of money on developing cycling routes”.
He added the money saved from next year’s Tour de Yorkshire would not go far in developing the network in North Yorkshire.
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