£800,000 investment for cycling and tourism in Yorkshire
Deputy Prime Minister announced £800,000 investment to improving cycling facilities in Yorkshire and to promote the region overseas.
Yorkshire will get £800,000 to help market the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire to international visitors and build new cycling facilities in the region, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced today.
£300,000 of funding will be invested by Welcome to Yorkshire on international marketing to promote the Tour de Yorkshire and the region generally to overseas tourists.
The Deputy Prime Minister has also announced £500,000 to improve cycling facilities in Yorkshire. The investment will contribute to constructing a number of cycle circuits across the county. Every year each circuit will support 10,000 competitive and recreational cyclists who want to take part in the sport away from traffic, with access to the best support facilities.
The move will provide sites that will help increase cycling participation in the region as well as help train new talent, potentially nurturing future Olympic, Paralympic and Tour de France champions.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
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.
Through my Northern Futures initiative, we have already announced £10 million to back proposals for a co-ordinated tourism strategy in the north. This further funding will ensure the Tour de Yorkshire gets international attention on a grand scale, whilst investment for new facilities will help the sport grow so that everyone can enjoy cycling.
Minister for Sport and Tourism Helen Grant also welcomed the announcement.
Helen Grant said:
British cycling has been a great success story in recent years and I want the sport to continue to grow at all levels. This funding will not only strengthen cycling in Yorkshire but also promote the area to tourists through the first Tour de Yorkshire this spring.
Yorkshire’s local economy benefitted to the tune of over £100 million when it hosted the Tour de France Grand Depart last year and today’s announcement will help Yorkshire to build on that legacy.
The organisers of the Tour de France, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), were so impressed with Yorkshire’s role in staging the biggest cycle race in the world that they agreed to stage a new international road race this year, working in partnership with local tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire.
The Tour de Yorkshire will run from Friday 1 May to Sunday 3 May. Stage 1 begins in Bridlington and finished in Scarborough, stage 2 begins in Selby and finishes in York while stage 3 starts in Wakefield and will finish in Leeds.
Notes to editors:
- The investment in cycling facilities would be over 2 years from 2015 /16 and 2016/17. It is dependent on planning permission and local partner funding being secured.