Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Now we have something / quite-a-lot to discuss and celebrate.
thirdcrank
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Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by thirdcrank »

The financial problems of Welcome to Yorkshire drag on.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-54163091

There was an item about this on the BBC regional news saying that if they did get another bail-out, they might be concentrating on golf in future.
geocycle
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by geocycle »

That's a shame but understandable from the stresses of covid and the allegations of previous mismanagement. Unfortunately this type of expenditure creates costs for councils but any benefits are dispersed and hard to measure. I hope someone comes in to save the TdY assuming it is feasible in 2021.
Ontherivet77
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by Ontherivet77 »

thirdcrank wrote:The financial problems of Welcome to Yorkshire drag on.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-54163091

There was an item about this on the BBC regional news saying that if they did get another bail-out, they might be concentrating on golf in future.



Although, I consider golf the most boring sport ever conceived I would have thought that it pays for itself as a spectator sport and wouldn't need any further funding.
thirdcrank
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by thirdcrank »

I think the two things are separate but related.

1. Welcome to Yorkshire was reported to need a bail out to continue in existence.

2. If the organisation has a future, then it will concentrate on golf as a visitor attraction.

Welcome to Yorkshire is the tourist board under another name, not a regional sports promotion outfit.
reohn2
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by reohn2 »

Perhaps golf is the new golf? :wink:
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mjr
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by mjr »

thirdcrank wrote:Welcome to Yorkshire is the tourist board under another name, not a regional sports promotion outfit.

Not quite. The only remaining tourist board is VisitBritain, a public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Welcome to Yorkshire and all the other local chancers are limited companies, some owned by random-looking groups of councils, others owned privately and bidding for local or national government grants. "Localism" or a way to reduce accountability?
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thirdcrank
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by thirdcrank »

One way or another, I can think of perhaps three problems:-

Gary Verity was charismatic and a fantastic promoter but ran ahead of himself, providing his critics/ opponents with all they needed.

Some people seem inherently opposed to cycling.

The weather totally screwed-up the 2019 Worlds from the POV of promoting tourism. Instead of helicopter shots of the Broad Acres, it was all rain of Noah's Ark proportions. The Stray remained a churned-up mess, meaning the shouting continued for months when it was all over.
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squeaker
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by squeaker »

reohn2 wrote:Perhaps golf is the new golf? :wink:
From what I'm told, as a councillor attempting to stop the sell-off of a municipal golf course for housing, golf is declining - maybe that's why it's seeking promotion? (Personally I prefer a nice walk in the countryside without all the sticks and shouting :lol: )
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reohn2
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by reohn2 »

squeaker wrote:
reohn2 wrote:Perhaps golf is the new golf? :wink:
From what I'm told, as a councillor attempting to stop the sell-off of a municipal golf course for housing, golf is declining - maybe that's why it's seeking promotion? (Personally I prefer a nice walk in the countryside without all the sticks and shouting :lol: )

Never has so much land been used by so few people intent on patting small balls into small holes with big sticks :wink:
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thirdcrank
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by thirdcrank »

squeaker wrote:
reohn2 wrote:Perhaps golf is the new golf? :wink:
From what I'm told, as a councillor attempting to stop the sell-off of a municipal golf course for housing, golf is declining - maybe that's why it's seeking promotion? (Personally I prefer a nice walk in the countryside without all the sticks and shouting :lol: )


A golf course is often a Trojan horse in the long process of getting planning permission to build housing on a greenfield site.
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mjr
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by mjr »

thirdcrank wrote:A golf course is often a Trojan horse in the long process of getting planning permission to build housing on a greenfield site.

Yes, indeed. In one case in Norfolk, its strangely indirect access road then became the first section in a new relief road through a greenfield site because it was only a short section across greenfield. Now, decades later, housing is being built on the fields between the existing settlement and the golf course because that's now "infill" which was the next preference in planning policy after brownfield.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by thirdcrank »

In breaking news, the Tour de Yorkshire 2021 has been cancelled (never to rear its head again I suspect.)

The official line is that it's postponed til 2022

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/o ... ic-3032629
geocycle
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by geocycle »

What a shame, but a sensible decision given their financial issues and continued virus risks. I feel this event had more to give under the new management and was positive for the county. I fear you could be right about the longer term unless a major sponsor emerges.
FerociousDog
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by FerociousDog »

I don’t think it has anything to do with the virus.Like a lot of businesses they’re shielding behind it to hide from deeper issues.Pity really but not surprising.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Welcome to Yorkshire in trouble

Post by Cyril Haearn »

A golf tournament was held in Wales in October
Surprisingly, it rained :wink:

Where may one watch the paint-drying tournament?
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