Bike stories coming to York

Bike Story

Yorkshire theatre company 509 Arts has announced the premier in York and tour dates for its free performances of Bike Story, a brand new outdoor theatre production based on stories from the public about cycling.

The show, commissioned by Yorkshire Festival 2014 and presented in association with City of York Council, will tour festivals and town centres throughout Yorkshire. During the run up to this year’s Grand Départ, it will be staged in venues including Rowntree Park in York, Hull, Doncaster, Leeds, Grassington, Saltaire, Ilkley, Harrogate, Halifax and Hebden Bridge and is free to the public.

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Huntington Stadium concert – Event license application submitted

click to go to list of applications published by the York Council

click to go to list of applications published by the York Council

The application for a license, necessary before the Russell Watson concert can take place on 4th July, has now been published on the York Council’s web site

Residents have until 5th June to record any objections to the 10,000 capacity concert planned for the Huntington Stadium.

The Huntington Stadium usually has a 4000 capacity limit for Rugby League matches.

Quite why this application has been submitted by the Council so late in the proceedings – and after the commencement of ticket sales had been announced – is something of a mystery.

It is reminiscent of the plan to hi-jack Monk Stray for use as a campsite for the Tour event; a proposal which led to widespread public concern and eventually the imposition of addition restrictions by the licensing committee.

The main concerns at Huntington are likely to revolve around traffic management issues and public safety management both inside and outside the stadium.

The event is being held on a Friday which is one of the busiest days of the week in the shopping centre and on surrounding roads.

If the Licensing Committee turned down – or imposed a lower crowd limit – on the event then it is unlikely that any appeal against such a decision could be considered in the remaining time available before the event was scheduled to take place.

York Council plans 10,000 capacity event at Huntington stadium

Star-studded concert will launch a weekend of ‘Grand Départy!’ celebrations in York

Russell Watson

Russell Watson

‘People’s Tenor’ Russell Watson, X Factor favourites Rough Copy and Union J, and Kian Egan of Westlife-fame are among the line-up for a star-studded concert that will kick off a weekend of ‘Grand Départy’ celebrations in York.

Planned for the evening of Friday July 4, the Grand Départy Concert will take place at York’s Huntington Stadium.

The size of the event has raised some serious questions about potential congestion, safety and security problems.

The Council has not yet started consultation with affected local residents and businesses in the Huntington area

 

The diverse line-up also includes York-based singer songwriter Alistair Griffin; British pop star Eylar Fox; The Loveable Rogues; 1980s bands Altered Images, Brother Beyond and the Blow Monkeys; and vocal harmony group The Overtones.

10,000 tickets are available for the event and demand is expected to be high. Priced at £29.50 for general admission, £35 for VIP seated tickets or £100 for a family ticket (for four people), they will be on sale from http://www.ticketline.co.uk/ from Friday 16 May.

The concert is just one element of an action-packed Grand Départy weekend planned for 4, 5 and 6 July. A host of other events and attractions will be taking place at locations across the city, including street theatre and live music.

Those who want to be at the heart of the action throughout the course of the weekend should head to City of York Council’s three Spectator Hubs at Monk Stray, the Designer Outlet and Millennium Bridge, where there will be family entertainment, big screens, refreshments, merchandise and much more.

For more information about the Spectator Hubs, visit: http://www.experiencetherace.com/

 

 

Cycling sessions for people with disabilities announced

disabled bike

New and inclusive cycling sessions are starting in May at York Sport Village. A full range of adapted bicycles will be on hand so that everyone will be able to enjoy the one-kilometre track, whatever their age, experience or ability.

The sessions are particularly suitable for those living with a disability or long-term medical condition or older adults who enjoy a slower pace of ride.

 

There will be three sessions every week and participants can just turn up to any or to all:

· Every Wednesday 5pm to 6.30pm, starting 14 May

· Thursdays 1.30pm to 3.30pm, starting 15 May

· Sundays 12noon to 2pm, starting 18 May.

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Tour de France events brochure launched today

cycling band

An new programme which outlines some of the many cycling opportunities and events in York this year will be launched by members of York’s cycling fraternity and cycling residents on Tuesday 29 April.

Brochures have been distributed through schools and can be picked up from leisure centres and libraries. Further information and a copy of the brochure to download is available from www.york.gov.uk/cycling

 

The programme is a fun, friendly and exciting series of cycling and fitness activities for the whole family and forms an important part of York’s local cycling legacy which aims to increase participation in cycling. Details can now be found in a new brochure, produced by City of York Council.

The programme includes a wide variety of different opportunities, many of which are free, for residents to get on their bike and set the wheels rolling. These include local family rides, led rides for novices, older adults and those living with a disability or medical condition and the popular one-day York Sky Ride event in September.

The brochure has a useful calendar of cycling activities and includes much loved 2 wheeled events such as the annual York Festival of Cycling, Heart of York Ride and cycling taster events. It also includes introductions to local cycling groups such as the Breeze network Bike Belles groups for women cyclists, Clifton Cycling Club and the Wednesday Wheelers Cycling Group. Fantastic new cycling facilities – York Sport Village Closed Circuit Cycle Track and Rawcliffe Off Road Cycle Pump Track – are also detailed as safe, exhilarating places to cycle.

York has signed up to, and is the lead partner on, the regional Tour de France Grand Départ Legacy for cycling, Cycle Yorkshire. Yorkshire is already a great place to cycle and has a long cycling heritage with participation being above the national average and York being named as one of the best cycling cities in the county. This is a great base from which to start but Cycle Yorkshire recognises that there is still a lot of work to do. The 10 year strategy has five themes – get more people cycling, make choosing cycling easier, more events to take part in, greater awareness of cycling and cyclists and a thriving network of cycling businesses and social enterprises – all to encourage more people to cycle more often.

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