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Jan 2022
Harrogate Borough Council is set to continue paying its subscription to the troubled tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire, despite an increase in the cost.
Borough council officials confirmed to the Stray Ferret that the authority will honour its payment this year, which will be more than £14,000.
Councils across North Yorkshire are to consider whether to help keep Welcome to Yorkshire afloat after the tourism body upped its subscription fee for local authorities by some 45 per cent.
The proposal has been met with criticism from leading district councillors with some responding to the increase by calling for the stream of public money that has been handed to WtY to be permanently plugged or for a decision to be postponed.
However, a spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said it would continue to honour its subscription until there was any change in the regional approach to the tourism body.
They said:
The tourism body has admitted making “big mistakes” in the way it spent taxpayers’ money, including spending more than £430,000 removing and investigating its former chief executive, Sir Gary Verity, following concerns over his expenses claims.
Lord Scriven, the former leader of Sheffield City Council, has said WtY needs to adopt a self-funded model.
However, Cllr Gareth Dadd, executive councillor for finance at North Yorkshire County Council, said the authority would examine any request for funding from WtY “in the light of its performance and our ability to pay”.
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