Welcome to Yorkshire asks for 45% more funding from councils

Councils are to consider whether to help keep Welcome to Yorkshire afloat after the troubled tourism body upped its subscription fee for local authorities by some 45 per cent.

Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council are among the councils paying annual subscription fees to WtY. Harrogate Borough Council paid £12,100 in July last year.

Leading councillors have responded 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 until options for the future direction of tourism marketing in the region are presented to the Yorkshire Leaders Board next month.

Welcome to Yorkshire at 2021 Great Yorks Show

Welcome to Yorkshire at the 2021 Great Yorkshire Show.

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.

In recent years numerous local authorities have threatened to withhold funding from WtY, at a time that its finances have been hit hard by the pandemic.

Self-funded model

Lord Scriven, the former leader of Sheffield City Council, has said WtY needs to adopt a self-funded model.

Nevertheless, in October, WtY said it had sufficient funds to operate until March 31, assuming all committed subscriptions for 2021/22 are paid.

An officers’ report to a meeting of Richmondshire District Council’s corporate board on Tuesday next week states the subscription fee for local authorities was initially “modest” at £1,300 a year until 2012, when the rate was raised to £10,000.

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The cost of the subscription for next year has risen to £14,515, which WtY has justified on the basis that there had been no increase in the six previous years.

‘Nothing but scandal’

Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independents group on North Yorkshire County Council, said WtY’s page views for Richmondshire were far inferior to the privately-run Richmond Online tourism website, which was receiving one million hits a month.

He said:

“What have we been getting out of Welcome to Yorkshire? Nothing but scandal. Originally it was supposed to be immediately self-funding, but it has always relied on massive public contributions.

“Councils should not be giving any more money to an organisation that has not demonstrated it is making an effective difference to our lives and our economy.”

The county council’s finance boss, Councillor Gareth Dadd, said the authority would examine any request for funding from WtY “in the light of its performance and our ability to pay”.

He added:

“There is most definitely an advantage of having a tourism marketing body.”

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive resigns

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason has resigned and will leave the organisation next month.

Mr Mason, who has led the tourism body since January last year, will depart on October 22 to take on a new yet-to-be-announced job in the new year.

The news comes less than a month after it was announced the 2022 Tour de Yorkshire had been cancelled.

Mr Mason joined Welcome to Yorkshire after former boss, Sir Gary Verity, resigned in March 2019 on health grounds. Mr Verity later faced allegations of bullying and inappropriately claiming expenses, which he denied.

Speaking about his departure, Mr Mason said “the decision wasn’t an easy one” but that he was “excited” for his new role.

He said:

“Whilst working under difficult conditions at times, there is lots we can be proud of, such as the much-loved Walkshire campaign, the launch of a personal membership and tree planting scheme, as well as the implementation of a tourism recovery plan.

“The brief when I joined was to guide Welcome to Yorkshire towards steadier waters and drastically reduce costs.

“We achieved this despite all the restrictions we faced and never stopped innovating or striving for excellence.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their involvement in trying to bring the Tour de Yorkshire back especially our local authority partners with their continued commitment. These high-profile events will return to the region when the time is right.”

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Chair of Welcome to Yorkshire, Peter Box, thanked Mr Mason for the “commitment and energy” he brought to the role.

He added Welcome to Yorkshire will arrange a board meeting to discuss the future of the organisation.

Mr Box said:

“We would like to thank James for the commitment and energy he has demonstrated during a particularly turbulent time for tourism and for the organisation. When James joined as chief executive almost two years ago there were many challenges to deal with.

“A positive plan was put in place to continue showcasing Yorkshire to the world and despite the covid pandemic adding a new and unexpected level of challenges for the tourism industry, James tackled all issues head-on and worked tirelessly.

“He embraced all aspects of the role passionately and with creativity. A board meeting will be arranged to discuss the next steps for Welcome to Yorkshire.”

Councils have ‘dodged hefty bill’ with cancellation of Tour de Yorkshire, says councillor

Yorkshire councils have “dodged a hefty bill” with the cancellation of the Tour de Yorkshire 2022, a senior councillor has said.

Cllr Andy Solloway, who sits on North Yorkshire County Council, said he was not surprised the cycling race was cancelled for a third year in a row and that he believes councils would have had to fork out more cash to the organisers if it went ahead.

The county council backed the race with £100,000 and set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to gain sponsorship.

Co-organisers Welcome to Yorkshire also received the backing of other councils including Craven, Barnsley, Richmondshire, East Riding, and Redcar and Cleveland which agreed to underwrite the event by £100,000 to cover any sponsorship losses.

The extra funding came on top of the £100,000 each council in race start and finish locations had already agreed to.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Solloway said: 

“It seems to me that the Tour de Yorkshire’s unviability would have meant that local councils were in line for subsidising rather than underwriting as we were assured at the time, which was actually less than a couple of months ago.

“I think councils with their stretched funds may have dodged a hefty bill here.”

Disruption to people

Welcome to Yorkshire said the decision to cancel the event was made due to “financial challenges” and after “lengthy discussions” with co-organiser Amaury Sport Organisation.

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The race would have seen a four-day men’s event going from Beverley to Redcar, followed by Skipton to Leyburn, then Barnsley to Huddersfield and Halifax to Leeds.

A two-day women’s race was also planned for the middle two stages.

The cancellation comes after the 2020 and 2021 legs of the event were called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cllr Solloway, who is also leader of the Independent group on Craven District Council, added: 

“While I think that there will be many disappointed, I also think that there are others that will take a different view and not relish the disruption.

“I am wondering if Welcome to Yorkshire knew that this was going to happen, but still pushed ahead with trying to get the councils on board.”

‘A line had to be drawn somewhere’

Councils which were approached by Welcome to Yorkshire to provide financial support but did not make any decisions included Leeds, Calderdale and Kirklees.

A spokesperson for the organisers said: 

“Welcome to Yorkshire’s commitment to the Tour de Yorkshire is in a facilitatory capacity to organise, plan and deliver the race.

“Funding has always come via a combination of local authorities paying for the right to host a start or a finish of a stage and commercial partners paying for sponsorship, engagement and branding opportunities.

“Welcome to Yorkshire has been transparent through the whole process with regards to the increased costs and delays in planning because of covid-19.

“Increasing commercial demands meant a line had to be drawn somewhere as it was becoming not viable despite how disappointing this may seem.”

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:

“I would support continuing with the festival idea, which was the idea linked to the cycle race. I do hope that the race is only postponed and that we will be talking about having a race again in 2023.

“It’s hard to think of another event that touches so many different parts of the county and the region of Yorkshire and joins them all up together.”

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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.

 

2022 Tour de Yorkshire cancelled

The 2022 Tour de Yorkshire bike race has been cancelled today.

Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and French company Amaury Sport Organisation issued a statement at 7pm tonight blaming covid and “escalating financial challenges and uncertainties” for making the event “unviable”.

The 2022 route was not due to include the Harrogate district but had financial implications for local people because North Yorkshire County Council agreed last month to give £200,000 of council taxpayers’ money to support the event.

It is not clear yet what will happen to that funding.

The Tour de Yorkshire was held annually from 2015 to 2019 following the success of the 2014 Tour de France’s Grand Départ, which ended in Harrogate. Covid scuppered it last year and this year.

Despite today’s decision, Welcome to Yorkshire said in tonight’s statement its “ambition to continue hosting international events is as strong as ever and this is the beginning of a whole new positive plan to showcase Yorkshire globally through dedicating time to varied and exciting opportunities”.

But there was no mention of the Tour de Yorkshire being resurrected in 2023, raising doubts about it happening again.

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James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, which is a marketing organisation for Yorkshire, said:

“We had every intention for the race to go ahead but unfortunately some of the circumstances were out of our control and sometimes you have to make big calls for the right reasons.

“People from Yorkshire are proud and we only want the best for the county. We still have ambitions for large events going forward to put Yorkshire on the world stage and we will continue to work with our partners to plan for those.”

Brian Facer, chief executive of British Cycling, said:

“Clearly this is very disappointing news for everyone who recognises the value the Tour de Yorkshire brings to the county and to cycling in Britain.

“This is not just about the economic boost that top level bike racing has brought to Yorkshire, but also in the huge numbers of people who have been inspired to cycle themselves.

“The local authorities in Yorkshire have done a fantastic job over recent years and deserve credit for trying to find a way forward.”

 

Chief executive defends Welcome to Yorkshire after accountability allegations

The chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire has defended the organisation amid allegations that the tourism body has become unaccountable.

James Mason, who joined the organisation in January 2020, called on people to judge the body on its record “going forward”.

Mr Mason joined the organisation after former boss, Sir Gary Verity, resigned in March 2019. on health grounds. He later faced allegations of bullying and inappropriately claiming expenses, which he denied.

Two inquiries carried out after Sir Gary’s resignation cost the tourism body £482,500. Following the announcement of the investigations, the then chairman of Welcome to Yorkshire, Ron McMillan, resigned after councils funding the organisation demanded a “significantly revamped board to take the business forward”.

In July 2019, Lord Paul Scriven, a former leader of Sheffield City Council and Liberal Democrat peer, called for the board to resign and said “fundamental change” was needed to regain its reputation.

The new allegations come after the Yorkshire Post reported that Sir Thomas Ingilby, owner of Ripley Castle and Gardens, said in an email to members of Welcome to Yorkshire that the body had become “completely unaccountable” and had failed to meet with members.

Mr Mason told the Stray Ferret that he “fully respected” Sir Thomas’ disappointment, but added that the organisation had taken steps to be accountable and transparent.

He said the accusation “could be labeled at the past” and the present “to a point”.

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But, Mr Mason said the body was undertaking a governance review, held meetings in public and published minutes of its board.

He added that Welcome to Yorkshire was also looking at its constitution and how it elected chairmen and board members.

Mr Mason said:

“We’re looking at how we as an organisation can represent the future as a county.”

Meanwhile, Mr Mason said the organisation needed to come together in order for the tourism industry to recover after the covid pandemic.

He said:

“Whether you are for or against Welcome to Yorkshire is not really important.

“What you need to be for is the Yorkshire tourism industry and the visitor economy that really needs support right now. It’s an unwelcome distraction.”

Mr Mason added:

“We all want the same thing at Welcome to Yorkshire, whether you are a member or not a member.

“We all have to come together and want the same thing. That’s the only way we are going to recover. 

“It’s not going to be via fighting, bitter feuds, looking back or looking at the present, it’s about looking forward.”

Mr Mason called on people to judge Welcome to Yorkshire on their record going forward.

“Just judge us please on the now and going forward. That is all I would ask.”

‘We have a duty to support Tour de Yorkshire’

Senior county councillors have today backed awarding the tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire up to £200,000 to host the Tour de Yorkshire.

It comes after Amaury Sports Organisation, which is part of a French media group that owns the event and co-organises it with Welcome to Yorkshire, said last week it would not cover the costs of the race.

This has prompted the council to offer Welcome to Yorkshire up to £200,000 to stage the race next May in the hope it will boost tourism.

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Senior county councillors approved a payment of £100,000 to fund the event and to set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.

Council bosses said the money set aside would only be paid if Welcome to Yorkshire make a “final evidenced request”.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of the county council, said at a meeting of the authority’s executive today:

“We have a leadership responsibility in North Yorkshire and I know that one or two of the district and borough councils have shown their support by passing a similar recommendation.

“But as the principle authority, I think we have a duty to support anything that could have potential benefits to tourism.”

Cllr Dadd added that a review of the race would be carried out to determine the benefits to the county of holding it.

Welcome to Yorkshire has requested funding from numerous local authorities which are host towns for the race in case it fails to get sponsorship.

Harrogate Borough Council is not one of them but Harrogate district people will still fund the event through the portion of their council tax payments that goes to North Yorkshire County Council.

If all the payments are approved, Yorkshire taxpayers could underwrite the event by up to £900,000.

 

County council to offer £200,000 to fund Tour de Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council is to offer the tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire up to £200,000 of taxpayer money to hold the Tour de Yorkshire in 2022.

The event, which is usually held over the May Day bank holiday weekend, has not taken place for the last two years due to covid.

As a result, Welcome to Yorkshire has requested funding from numerous local authorities in case it fails to get sponsorship.

In a report due before senior county councillors next week, officials at the authority have set out plans to pay Welcome to Yorkshire £100,000 to hold the event.

A further £100,000 will also be set aside if the tourism body requires funding to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.

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However, council bosses said this would only be paid if Welcome to Yorkshire make a “final evidenced request”.

The report said:

“At this stage it is not possible to determine how much of the additional fee would be required but the approach set out, and the personnel involved, provides a high degree of assurance that there is a good plan.

“As a result, Welcome to Yorkshire feel it is “unlikely” that the additional fee of up to £100,000 will be required.

“Clearly, there will need to be some form of assessment of the effectiveness of the commercial sponsorship strategy following the 2022 event in order to inform future events.”

The report added that the additional payment would be funded from the authority’s reserves.

Senior county councillors on the authority’s executive will make a decision on the funding on Tuesday next week.

The request for funding in 2022 is understood to have been made to numerous local authorities, which are host towns for the race.

As Harrogate is not a host town, Harrogate Borough Council is not expected to contribute to the costs. But if North Yorkshire County Council agrees to do so then everyone in the county would pay through their council tax.

The race is being promoted as an opportunity to aid economic recovery across the region, and in particular in host towns and cities of Leyburn, Barnsley, Beverly, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Redcar and Skipton.

Local taxpayers may contribute to further Tour de Yorkshire funding

North Yorkshire County Council is in early discussions with Welcome to Yorkshire over funding next year’s Tour de Yorkshire if the body fails to get sponsorship.

The event, which is usually held over the May Day bank holiday weekend, has not taken place for the last two years due to covid.

The request for funding in 2022 is understood to have been made to numerous local authorities, which are host towns for the race.

As Harrogate is not a host town, Harrogate Borough Council is not expected to contribute to the costs. But if North Yorkshire County Council agrees to do so then everyone in the county would pay through their council tax.

The race is being promoted as an opportunity to aid economic recovery across the region, and in particular in host towns and cities of Leyburn, Barnsley, Beverly, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Redcar and Skipton.

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Richard Flinton, chief executive at North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“We are in early discussions about what is needed to enable the Tour de Yorkshire to take place, including whether there needs to be any underwriting of the sponsorship element that Welcome to Yorkshire wants to raise. 

“We have not yet taken any decisions about the Tour de Yorkshire.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Richmondshire District Council is among the district councils that may be asked to contribute to the event.

An officer’s report to a council meeting next Tuesday said in addition to the usual estimated costs of hosting a stage of the event, “there may be a requirement to underwrite a further amount by the end of June to allow Welcome to Yorkshire to commit to the race”.

The report states there would be a potential extra £100,000 cost to Richmondshire council alone, on top of the £160,000 it has already agreed to pay, if Welcome to Yorkshire is unable to secure sufficient sponsorship.

The report suggests some of the extra funds could be drawn from the council’s dwindling reserves.

Richmondshire council’s corporate board spokesman, Cllr Stuart Parsons, said the authority would debate whether offering extra funds on a weather-dependent event would be value for money.

He said: 

“Personally speaking, if we are able to raise the money that Welcome to Yorkshire expects we should be investing that money in expanding events that directly function in Richmondshire, like the Swaledale Festival and Richmond Walking and Book Festival as they would bring in a much longer term gain for the local economy.”

‘No better promotion’

However, Cllr Carl Les, Welcome to Yorkshire board member and county council leader, rejected the criticisms, saying it was a duty of councils to promote their areas to a wider audience.

He added: 

“I am satisfied with the probity and governance arrangements around Welcome to Yorkshire. There’s a new chairman and a new chief executive in place, new board members and audit and other controls in place following reports by Clarion Solicitors and accountants BDO.

“While staycation is going to of benefit this year, in future years we are going to have to be more competitive with other destinations, so we need to set out our stall the best we can, and there isn’t a better way of promoting the geography of an area than following a cycle race as it goes on television for hours. If you had to buy that sort of advertising it would cost millions.”

Council’s £500k Welcome to Yorkshire loan extended for ‘technical reasons’

A loan given by North Yorkshire County Council to tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire will be extended for another six months.

The £500,000 agreement was taken out in September 2019 to help cashflow and was originally due to be repaid by November last year.

However, the council agreed to extend the term by a year to November 2021, and has now added a further six months to the term. NYCC’s executive today voted unanimously to support the deadline of April 2022 for the loan to be repaid.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of NYCC, said:

“This is done for a technical reason – it’s not offering any more funding to Welcome to Yorkshire in any shape or form. It’s merely a technical extension to that loan repayment period in order for them to cover their accounting year.”

The loan was secured on a property owned by WtY on Tadcaster Road in York, and will continue at an interest rate of seven per cent. Cllr Dadd added:

“Financially, we do OK out of this loan to Welcome to Yorkshire, and that wants emphasising. And I would suggest, given the value of the property, it’s absolutely secure.”

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WtY posted losses of £198,997 in the last two years, according to its latest accounts. It published two sets of accounts last month, which covered the six months to March 31, 2020, and the 18 months to September 30, 2019.

The organisation, which is a limited company, was bailed out last year by Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, plus other local authorities across the region.

Both authorities approved funding totalling more than £300,000 after WtY warned it faced a £1.4 million funding gap amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesperson for the organisation told the Stray Ferret previously that it had been a “difficult time” but added the organisation had undergone “significant operational, staffing, cultural and strategic changes” since the periods covered by the two sets of accounts.

The spokesperson said:

“The accounts were filed after an extended period as a result of issues relating to the coronavirus crisis, including subsequent uncertainty of funding which had previously been assigned from the North and West Yorkshire Business Rates Committee.

“The organisation is focusing on the future, moving forward and supporting the economic recovery of the tourism sector in Yorkshire through the coronavirus crisis and post-pandemic to reopen, recover and rebuild as part of Welcome to Yorkshire’s tourism recovery plan, working closely with the county’s businesses and local authorities.”