Just like the race itself, the local community saw
winners, losers and even injuries!
There is no doubting that, for the visitors and
spectators, Le Tour weekend was a success.
The goodwill of the crowd cheering on the riders as they sped past was
clear for all to see. For a few brief
hours, parts of Yorkshire were in the gaze of millions of people and we
certainly seemed to impress.
But what about the local businesses and others
wanting to go about their day to day lives?
Many cafes and B&Bs have reported record
takings for the weekend; although this is tempered by the fact that they only
had so much capacity and it is a busy time of year anyway. Many of them have said that takings were not
significantly more than normal. On the
other hand, many establishments off the main route have said they were quieter
than normal – their regulars had gone away to avoid the mayhem!
Local businesses saw disruption from the Friday
before the race with parking and traffic restrictions. My own business was only given ONE parking
permit for the Friday for 12 members of staff!
Our cleaning staff couldn’t get in at the weekend because of the
restrictions and we faced traffic delays for several days.
Low paid carers going about their normal routine
visits often faced detours of over 25 miles to get to see vulnerable people
reliant on their services. Several have
told me that they got paid no more and their day was several hours longer
because of the disruptions.
And what do we have to show for the weekend other
than some rather tired looking bunting and a few yellow painted bicycles that
are still littering the route?
Hopefully, people will have seen enough of God’s Own County to entice
them to visit us over the next few years.
But unlike the Olympics, and despite the millions spent on the weekend,
there is no tangible legacy, no permanent facilities left behind.
Whether you are a winner or a loser following Le
Tour, it was a spectacular weekend showing Yorkshire at its best!
No comments:
Post a Comment