No but you obviously think London is though. Just imagine what it's like living in the states. They don't think twice about driving half a day or more to go somewhere they want to. I drive to family in Farnham, it's straight down the M4, 2 hours. No bloody grief. Again it just comes across as sour grapes. And if by 'nowhere' you mean nestled among some of the most spectacular biking roads in the UK, yes, yes it is.
I live nowhere near London. I live in West Yorkshire. I would rather see a "national attraction" central in the British Isles so that it's easily accessible for all, and not just a few. And my objection to this is not sour grapes. It's based on my taxes being wasted on baling out something frivolous when there's far more deserving social cases for my money.
how do Elt. :smileys:. wales is kind of central tho init? much more population in a hundred mile radius than the cairngorms or the lakes anyhoo. dude, you sell snowboarding to the arabs for Christ sake. :Hilarious:. how much of a waist is that. most of the funding for your projects comes public money? :smileys:
Public funding paying for Snowsports infrastructure stopped a long time ago. Everything is now commercial. Which is a good thing as it takes the "enthusiastic amateurs" that couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery out of the equation.
You mentioned London as if it was the only sensible location for anything. Just think how much MORE expensive it would be if its was built anywhere in the South of England. As Finnm points out Wales is not exactly John o groats is it. Wales is very easy to get to from most of the UK and there's lots of infrastructure - do you think everything is dirt tracks here or something? ALL spectator sport is frivolous and no-one has suggested that there's a purely social justification for the investment. Perhaps we should cut tax spending on the arts too. Or scientific research? Since there's no immediate social benefit for those either. Red herring argument.
Why don't we just move all of Wales closer to London. Come to thing of it, it would be much better if the Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia were all closer to London too. I'm going to try and get Brands Hatch shifted as it's too far for me to drive to... Oh hang on; it's right near London, so it must be fine where it is...
If it was being built in the hebrides I would support, in deepest darkest Yourkshire, in sparse cumbria, in wet and dank cornwall they would all get my support. Greater (?) London - not on my list of go to places, even Brands is a pain in the arse due to the ring road and high population of the south east home counties area. So it could be a white elephant, but in reality £30m-£50m is a drop in the ocean, better a plan dared than a section of the m25 widened. I gather most of you guys on here own bikes and like a ride out on them, some great routes can be used to get to south wales. Think of the positives, that smarmy little shit Palmer will be feeling a little queasy with the thought he has world class competition on his door step (a 3 hour drive away is feck all). Please stop thinking with small island/ long distance mentality. A little bit of cash spent to raise up the profile of an area that has stunning scenery and coastline. The area is not a centre of financial commerce, there is no large phallic like building inhabited by geezers playing with your pension money. Rather COW will be a circuit built with your pension money. Enjoy it, its your money they will use to build it. Not mine though
Will thry have a list of undesirables on the gates when it does open? "Pete1950 you say" - "nah feck off back to London boyo". "Oh righty, it's El Toro it is" - "Y Ddraig Goch ddyry gychwyn back to Yorkshire"
Don't think I've ever mentioned it would be better being built near London. Unless you can show me otherwise. And let's agree to differ as we are never gonna convince each other that we are right. But when it goes tits up I hope that it's just the Welsh tax payer that picks up the bill, that way it'll stop me whinging again then.
The location of the proposed circuit is a red herring. It would make no difference if the proposed site was in the north, south, east, west, or centre of Britain. Building it would still be a bad idea even if it was next door to London, or to Silverstone, or let's say Rockingham. There are already plenty of existing circuits all over the UK which are in desperate need of investment and improvement, if there is any money to spare, and there are more than enough options for spending it. Like I said before, there is nothing wrong with Blaenau Gwent Council wanting to boost the local economy with a development scheme involving hotels, offices, warehouses, factories, shops, or anything which might be economically viable. I wish them well with it; more power to their elbow. I have to say I resent the preposterous, offensive, and misleading suggestion that I, or anyone else, are opposed to development in Wales per se.
You're right. It was Glid that mentioned London (though I thought you alluded to it in you're reply). I retract.
I just mentioned white elephants and noticed that a couple have been built in London. Not that I care, especially. White elephants create employment and the cost of building them is probably recycled into the economy. And giving people hope is important. What would they do with the money otherwise? HS2 or something, probably (another white elephant).
Yeah I agree Glidd. I disagreed with ET who was alluding that a non-london location has accessibility problems.
It is a commonplace that paying blokes to dig holes in the ground and paying other blokes to fill them in again would create employment and the money would be recycled into the economy. However if debt is being incurred to pay for it, it's better to build something with a continuing asset value so that the asset offsets the debt. It is also better to build something which is productive, viable, and of ongoing economic value. Whenever somebody takes a decision to invest in some novel scheme there is a risk it will become a white elephant, and forecasting the future is not an exact science. For example nearly all the investments in London's Docklands have been highly successful, with one exception - Tobacco Dock which was a total failure.
I didn't do any alluding. I stated that building something in the arse end of nowhere would have accessibility problems and therefore would be commercially unsustainable, and building it centrally would be a better idea. If you are going to use me in an argument please get the facts right.
Interestingly, Magny Cours was built in the middle of nowhere. It is very central, but there is no tourist infrastructure nearby, no hotels, and the area is quite dull. The circuit is also reasonably flat, albeit it has quite a few blind corners (it feels flat when you're riding it, but does go slightly up and down). It was built to encourage employment and provide a reason to go to Nevers. Bearing in mind that France is stuffed full of interesting places to go and amazing roads, I suspect that Nevers needed something big to attract people, as otherwise there is no reason to go there at all. I reckon that Wales is a lot more accessible and infinitely more interesting.
Glid, there is a huge difference between the centre of France and the centre of the U.K. We have chimney pots, and lots of them, in the centre of the U.K.
For a start France is well over twice the size of the UK, so distances are greater. Also the road network is better, so travelling distances is easier.
